Healthcare Resources

HEALTHCARE RESOURCES

HMO's vs PPO's:

What's the difference?

When you’re shopping for health insurance, you have a lot of options to choose from.

Knowing the differences between plans can help you choose the one that’s right for your health care needs and budget.

As you look at plans, you may notice that some plans are HMOs, and some are PPOs, but what does that mean?

HMO stands for health maintenance organization.
PPO stands for preferred provider organization.

Both types of plans use a network of physicians, hospitals and other health care professionals to give you the highest quality care. The difference between the two is the way you interact with those networks. (click picture for more info)

Obamacare 2015 and Beyond:

What you might and might not know about it!

Obamacare regulations have cut salaries at these small companies with 20-99 workers by a cumulative

$22.6 billion a year. Further, regulations and rising premiums have reduced employment by 350,000 jobs nationwide.

At companies with 20-49 workers, the per-worker pay loss is smaller, at $827.50 a year, versus $935 for those at businesses of 50-99 employees, the study says. It also says there was a 19.8% average jump in premiums from 2009 to 2013, resulting in a 2.3% reduction in wages.

That means the average worker, making roughly $831 a week, would lose $18.70 a week, or $935 a year due to higher insurance. In some states such as Connecticut, New Jersey and Wyoming, the annual loss tops $1,600 per worker. (click picture for more info)

Healthcare HR:

How Important is it?

Recruitment and retention of the correct number of qualiﬁed staff is very high on the list. Everyone knows there is a big nursing shortfall, but there is a need for highly qualified individuals all around.

Due to the rapid growth of the healthcare sector and its sheer size, it is a challenge to fill jobs. And despite this need, there are obvious pressures for cost containment with people accounting for the lion’s share of an organization’s costs. (click picture for more info)

In-Network vs Out-of-Network:

Looking for Doctors and Physicians.

In network or out of network?

The answer to that question could affect how much you pay for your health care services.

If the doctor, hospital or health care facility you visit is part of your insurance company’s network, you'll get your health care at lower prices.

But if you go out of your network for health care, it can become a lot more expensive.

Here's an example.

Say you go to a doctor that's in network and the total charge is $250. A discount is applied to that amount for our negotiated rate with the doctor. The discount is $75. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan pays $140. You'll have to pay the remainder, which is $35.

Now let's say you go to a doctor that's out of network. No discount is applied to the total charge. We still pay $140 but you'll be responsible for the remainder, which is $110. (click picture for more info)