title: Finance issue brief: point of service.
abstract: A point-of-service (POS) option is a type of plan offered by managed care organizations (MCOs), including health maintenance organizations (HMOs), that allows people who are willing to pay higher out-of-pocket costs to see out-of-plan providers.  Mandating a point-of-service option essentially eliminates the use of closed-panel HMOs.  This issue brief addresses only bills that mandate managed care plans to offer a point-of-service option.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stauffer
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration; D020403:Patient Freedom of Choice Laws / Q000266:history; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States