Can anyone please explain this to me - question about US health insurance?

I just moved to the States from Canada to work as a nurse and I'm trying to figure out how health insurance works down here. What is the difference between Medicare & Medicaid? And what are HMO's, PPO's etc?
Thanks so much!

oh my gosh, you will never figure this out, I have been a nurse here for 5 years and still can't figure it out myself. Medicare is governmental supplemental insurance for those over 65 years old. Medicaid is governement assistance for those who are basically poor, altough there is a lot a fraud on that issue. An HMO is a health management organization, and they basically determine what kind of health coverage a person will get. If a person has an HMO, they have to use the HMO's doctors and there is a lot of fraud there too. A lot of times Dr's get kickbacks from the HMO's for not prescribing needed treatments. In order for a person to get to a specialist they will need approval from their primary care provider (PCP). A PPO is another type of health insurance that is a little less restrictive to the patients than HMO's are. Basically a health consumer pays these companies for insurance and then the company decides what you get and what you don't. Don't worry if you can't figure it all out right now. I'm still working on it.

Medicare and Medicaid are both welfare insurance plans - but Medicare is run by the federal government, for people who are disabled on SSDI, or over 65, or in renal failure. Medicaid is run by each state, so coverage varies.

HMO's and PPO's are private health insurance plans, it describes which doctors you can see, and you you get to specialists. HMO stands for 'health maintenance organization' where you join the plan, and use only the plan doctors, and if you want to see a specialist, your primary care physcian has to agree you need a specialist, and will refer you to one. PPO stands for 'preferred provider organization' and is more flexible, for the most part - but with higher copays.

Medicare is for those in retirement age, Medicaid is for low income families.
HMO is Health Managed Organization, you are able to see any doctor within a insurance approved organization for a lower copay than if you go outside the network of approved doctors but you are still able to see whatever doctor you wish, this is one of the better plans if offered to you.
PPO is Preferred Provider Organization, you have to see someone within the network of approved doctors or no benefits will be paid this is good in some areas if you can see that the majority of your doctors and hospitals you utilize are covered.
And now alot of plans have HRA policy's, which is a high deductible plan that the company you work for puts forth a portion of the high deductible into an account and you can utilize it for all your out of pocket expenses until it is maxed out then you have to pay out the remaining, if you do not utilize your benefits much this is an excellent plan.

The very basics:

Medicare is for persons age 65 and above, while Medicaid is for low income individuals.

HMOs (health maintenance organizations) require that you use member practitioners and a central authority dictates the type of treatment you are entitled to receive.

PPOs (preferred provider organizations) have practitioners under contract who agree to specified reimbursement rates. As a patient, you can choose to go to a practitioner who is a preferred provider, and that provider can only charge you the agreed upon rate. You, the patient must pay the agreed upon co-insurance and/or co-pays. Typically, a co-pay for a doctor's visit is $15. If you go to a practitioner who is not a preferred provider, the PPO will pay a lower percentage of the contracted reimbursement rate, but the practitioner is free to charge whatever they want to the patient. So, the patient ends up paying 2 to 3 times as much for a practitioner who is not a preferred provider.

Medicare is a government health care program for people aged 65 and over. Medicaid is a welfare program for health care, for people unable to afford to buy insurance.

If you are working as a nurse, you probably have a group health insurance plan available through, and probably subsidized by, your employer. There are a variety of types of health insurance, including HMO's (Health Maintenance Organizations) and PPO (Preferred Provider Organizations). Each insurance plan has rules on what will be paid for, and what doctors or facilities you can use, and what authorization you need to use them.

You don't need to worry about Medicare or Medicaid as you have not been here for five years yet.

HMO's and PPO's are just large health conglomerates. Most likely what you need is just a good health insurance plan with a large network. You can shop quote with several carriers, but it would be best to speak with an agent doing business in the state in which you reside.

http://www.ohioinsureplan.com/index.php/...

Your question is complicated!

Medicare and Medicaid are government health plans that you have to qualify for. Most likely, not being a US citizen, you don't qualify. Medicare is typically for the elderly, and Medicaid is for low-income citizens.

HMO's and PPO's are different types of health plans. They are often offered by employers who give their workers group health care coverage.