What's the difference between BCN AdvantageSM HMO and HMO-POS plans?

Who is this for?

Learn more about your BCN Advantage plan.

If you're a BCN Advantage HMO-POS or HMO member, this will help you understand how these types of plans are different.

Do you like to travel? Or do you spend most of your time close to home?

Those questions are important when it comes to explaining the difference between our HMO plans and our HMO-POS plans.

If you have an HMO-POS plan with us, routine health care is covered when you’re traveling outside your plan’s network. With an HMO plan, it’s not.

HMO-POS plans have a nationwide network of providers. If you’re planning on spending three months in Florida, for example, you can work with your primary care physician to find a doctor you can see while you’re there. This might be useful if you're managing a medical condition and spend a lot of time out of the state.

If you have one of our HMO plans and you’re traveling outside your network, you'll only be covered for emergency or urgent care in most cases.

Here’s a deeper look at some of the differences between these types of plans.

How they’re different:

BCN Advantage HMO vs. BCN Advantage HMO-POS
Type BCN Advantage HMO BCN Advantage HMO-POS
Network size The plans we currently offer have smaller networks. The plans we offer have larger networks.
Coverage while traveling You’re covered for emergency or urgent care. Routine care isn’t covered while traveling. If you're traveling out of Michigan but within the U.S., you can arrange to see a doctor for routine care.
Cost Because these plans have smaller networks, they cost less each month. They may also have lower copays when you get care. Most of these plans have higher monthly premiums than our HMO plans. They also tend to have higher copays when you get care.

How they’re the same

  • Travel outside the U.S. Travel outside the U.S. You have emergency coverage when you travel out of the country with both plans.
  • Most out-of-network care isn’t covered. If you’re in your coverage area, you’ll need to stay in your network when you get care or see specialists. Learn about some cases when out-of-network care is covered in our Help Center.
  • Where you live. With both plans, you need to live in Michigan for at least six months out of the year. And all our plans have specific counties in Michigan that you have to live in to be eligible for each plan.
  • Coordinated care. With both types of plans, your primary care physician will help you find the right specialist. 

Learn more about our Medicare Advantage plans in our plan section.