HMOs, PPOs and VSPs?

[J.opt]

Hey, I was going through some optometry literature and they talk about HMOs, PPOs and VSPs. What do those letters stand for?

Thanks ,

J.

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[r_salis]

HMO -- health maintenance organization
PPO -- preferred provider organization
VSP -- vision service plan

They're all types of health insurance -- VSP is specific to eye care, the others include other medical. Most health care providers gripe about organized health care plans because the plans are so large that they are able to contract w/providers to pay the bare minimum for services.

 

[rpames]

VSP is evil, it almost impossible to make a profit off what they will pay the doctors. If the patient does not buy designer glasses, the doctor will lose money on them. What VSP pays is not enought to pay the office staff for the time, much less actually make a profit. VSP actually gives out litterature to the doctors on how to make a profit, they tell to them to "up-sell", I think that is what they called it. Basically it is getting the patient to buy things they don't need, stratagies to get them to buy lens tints, anti-reflective coatings, no-line bifocals, designer frames... All that stuff that is nice, but not really needed. I feel it is very dishonest. I always offer the add-on to the patients, but never have I tried to sell something I didn't think was worth the money. VSP knows what they are doing and they just don't care. My father actually does not carry them anymore. We lost a few patients, but it was not worth the unethical practices one had to do to pay for the office.

 

[cpw]

Every office I've worked in took VSP because almost EVERY company in the area used it. If we'd cut VSP we'd lose 90% of our patient base. Not a wise decision. In an area where the companies aren't as VSP heavy it could be done, but VSP has a MAJOR junk of the US companies using it.

From my experience, VSP pays WAY more than some of the other companies out there.