What Are Hmos?

[Ariel_001]

Originally posted by j2k4@19 August 2004 - 16:17
I always thought HMOs was a poorly spelled colloquialism for gay people.

Boy, was I wrong, eh?

I guess so, eh? B)

[j2k4]

Originally posted by Ariel_001+19 August 2004 - 15:20--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Ariel_001 &#064; 19 August 2004 - 15:20)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-j2k4@19 August 2004 - 16:17
I always thought HMOs was a poorly spelled colloquialism for gay people.

Boy, was I wrong, eh?

I guess so, eh? [/b][/quote]


Yup.

Actually, though, I was kidding.

I was a member of one of the first HMOs .

I just couldn&#39;t resist; I&#39;ve been waiting about 17 years to throw that one out.

If it weren&#39;t for the interweb, you&#39;d never have known.

Sorry.

You know how us white people are.

[Ariel_001]

Originally posted by vidcc@16 August 2004 - 01:27
it&#39;s a "Health Maintenance Organization"

they are often the cheapest form of health coverage, especially for people who don&#39;t get health insurance from their employer, however many employers are going with HMO&#39;s to save money.

you pay into a scheme that provides healthcare within a restricted network of doctors and hospitals. It should have a comprehensive range of benefits for an annual fee (often with co- payments or deductibles that vary from service to service) but one can see only providers in the network.
Physicians and other health professionals are often on salary or contract with the HMO to provide services.
Patients are assigned to a primary care doctor or nurse who decides what health services are needed and when. This is where the problems can arise and "denial of treatment" lawsuits happen where the patient disagrees with the decision of the primary doctor and believe they should have treatment that the doctor feels is not needed or the HMO won&#39;t cover.

It is a complex system but this is a simplified discription. I have no idea what the Canadians do

Canadian Health Care

Canada has a predominantly publicly financed health care system. Our national health insurance program is achieved through thirteen interlocking provincial and territorial health insurance plans, linked through adherence to national principles set at the federal level.

The Canada Health Act establishes criteria and conditions related to insured health care services and extended health care services that the provinces and territories must meet in order to receive the full federal cash contribution under the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST). The aim of the Canada Health Act is to ensure that all eligible residents of Canada have reasonable access to medically necessary insured services on a prepaid basis, without direct charges at the point of service.