Released: January 17, 2006

Help Desk FAQ

What are the potential benefits of HMOs?

HMOs can satisfy employers’ desire to control health care costs and employees’ desire for lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Because it may be cheaper in the long run to prevent illness than to treat it, HMOs place emphasis on preventive care. As an HMO member, you have access to routine check-ups, pap smears, mammograms, immunizations, screening tests, smoking cessation programs and weight loss seminars that are not always covered under traditional fee-for-service health insurance.

Under the HMO system, your primary care physician coordinates all aspects of your health care, and therefore can get to know your entire medical history and what is important to you. This knowledge can be crucial to your care should you become critically ill and it may reduce the chances of complications during your treatment.