Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
A point-of-service (POS) plan blends features of which two managed care arrangements?
Select an option to reveal the answer and the full 3-part explanation — free, no signup.
Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
A point-of-service (POS) plan is a managed care hybrid: like an HMO, members select a primary care physician who acts as a gatekeeper and coordinates referrals; but like a PPO, members may go outside the network for care, typically paying a higher deductible or coinsurance and submitting their own claims. The out-of-network option distinguishes a POS from a strict HMO, while the gatekeeper requirement distinguishes it from a PPO. POS plans are one of the recognized care delivery forms for individual and group medical coverage.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) A POS plan retains the HMO-style gatekeeper; a PPO without a gatekeeper plus an HSA describes a different design, not a POS plan.
- C) An EPO provides no out-of-network coverage, which is the opposite of the POS out-of-network option.
- D) Medicare Part D is prescription drug coverage and is unrelated to the managed care structure of a POS plan.
Memory hook
POS = gatekeeper with an escape hatch: stay in network like an HMO, or go out and pay more.