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How to Buy Health Insurance - Definitions & Purchasing

What is a PPO?

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eHealth, Inc. is the parent company of eHealthInsurance Services Inc., the leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses. eHealthInsurance presents complex health insurance information in an objective, user-friendly format, enabling the research, analysis, comparison and purchase of health insurance products that best meet consumers' needs.

Licensed to market and sell health insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, eHealthInsurance has developed partnerships with more than 160 health insurance companies, offering more than 7,000 health insurance products online.

The company's technology platform is able to communicate electronically with insurance carrier partners, which enables a simpler, more streamlined health insurance application process. This technical connection with the back-office processes of health insurance companies can facilitate rapid approval of applications and real-time communication between carrier and consumer throughout the process.

eHealthInsurance provides consumers with transparency of information about a broad array of health insurance plans with a selection of price and benefit options, complemented by a full-service Customer Care Center of highly trained customer service representatives. Available via a toll free number, online chat, email or fax, the Customer Care team answers consumer questions throughout the process of buying and using health insurance.

eHealthInsurance was founded in 1997 and its technology was responsible for the nation's first Internet-based sale of a health insurance policy. We are headquartered in Mountain View, California.

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Transcripts

Host: What is a PPO?

Bob Hurley: A PPO is acronym for Preferred Provider Organization and this also is a network system that health insurance companies will typically, use in order to contract with a set number or a set group of doctors of hospitals and pharmacies. However, in a PPO the networks are typically much larger and much broader than you would find in a Health Maintenance Organization. So PPO networks are typically are very large often, national and give you a lot more flexibility as to where you go to seek out your own care, you have a lot more. You typically don't have gatekeepers in PPOs, you can typically choose whatever doctor you want to choose within that network of doctors or pharmacies or hospitals and so on and the rates that you are going to get from that provider are negotiated rates that the insurance company has already negotiated for you.

Most PPOs do have a deductible associated with them and so typically, if you are buying a PPO plan, you are buying a plan that has some deductible associated with it which means that, if you buy a PPO plan with $1,000 deductible or $1,500 deductible you are going to be coming out of your own pocket for that first $1,000 or $1,500 depending on the plan and how it works. So the PPO again, gives you more flexibility than managed care or HMOs still gives you discount in care by way of the negotiated rates that the insurance company is provided, but then obviously, gives you a little bit more power in the process as well as a little bit more financial stake in the process because of the deductibles.

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