Study participants who did not receive the
point-of-service education included 127 patients from the urban setting and 186 patients from the suburban setting.
In cases where primary care doctor visits carried a $10 copay, costs in the gatekeeper plan were up to 7% more expensive than in the
point-of-service plan.
The newest twist on managed health insurance is the
point-of-service plan (POS).
What I can tell you, anecdotally, is that they are asking that this be part of the menu of products that are offered to them, in addition to HMO, PPO and
point-of-service"
Still, one factor that may have contributed to lower costs was the fact that all patients enrolled in the
point-of-service plan were still required to choose a primary care doctor, Dr.
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care services about 800,000 members with health-maintenance-organization, preferred-provider-organization,
point-of-service and Medicare plans.
Indemnity and
point-of-service products lost members.
In the past two years, enrollment in PPOs rose to 43% from 35%, while enrollment in closed-panel HMOs lagged at 30%, and open-ended HMOs, or "
point-of-service plans," declined to 16% from 20%, according to the National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, released by William M.