The Insider's Guide to HMOs: How to Navigate the Managed Care System and Get the Health Care You Deserve

A practicing physician and insider offers a practical, concise guide to avoid getting lost in the healthcare shuffle.Within five years, nearly half of Americans will be insured by HMOs, which provide seemingly little choice about everything from your primary care physician to your options for more serious medical treatment As the mast radical transformation of American medicine in history takes place, HMO horror stories -- of interchangeable doctors, ineffective treatment, and services denied -- a becoming all too common.From the basic definitions and terms you need to know, to how to read your doctor, to when you may need legal help, The Insider's Guide to HMOs provides expert, dear advice on how to get the most out of the HMO system. Learn the difference between the various managed care plans available, how to get referrals to specialists inside and outside your HMO, how to evaluate the doctors in your system, what HMOs cover in an emergency, and how to get them to pay for the best available treatment for complicated or rare conditions.For everyone who has felt lost in the healthcare shuffle, The Insider's Guide to HMOs provides indispensable advice to reclaiming control of your medical care -- and getting back your peace of mind.Lively, well-argued and immensely practical. This book is packed with savvy advice about making the medical/insurance bureaucracy work for you. -- George Anders, author of Health Against Wealth: HMOs and the Breakdownof Medical Trust