[Question - Insurance] Under a typical POS insurance plan, will a referral from a primary care physician be required to see a specialist?

I know very, very little about the health care and health insurance industries, but I've been reading a little bit about HMOs, PPOs, and POSs and am trying to better understand the difference between the three.

I understand that HMOs only cover in-network care and generally require that patients have a primary care physician. I also understand that PPOs cover out-of-network care and don't require a primary care physician, while POS plans cover-out-of-network care (like PPOs) and require pcps (like HMOs).

According to this article, people covered under HMOs need referrals from their pcps to see specialists. I assume that people covered under POS plans also face this referral requirement to see specialists, but the article doesn't explicitly say whether or not this is the case.

Can someone clarify? I should note that I'm not currently looking a health insurance plan, nor do I know anyone who is looking for one. The only reason that I'm asking this question is out of simple curiosity.

Thanks!

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J Submitted September 21, 2020 at 03:36AM by JFox93 https://ift.tt/35SSjoX