Free of Insurance Plan Treatment Restrictions

There are very few Podiatrists opting out of insurance plan contracts although the trend is reversing to opting out. PPO and HMO practice guidelines are issued as "proper approaches" for its Doctors members in the evaluation and treatment of the patient.

These “Preferred Practice Guidelines” are usually created by a medical doctor or group paid by the insurance company to review the literature and come up with evidence-based and consensus-based evaluation and treatment recommendations. Of course, in practice what typically tends to happen is that the articles are somewhat “cherry-picked” to skew the “guidelines” to the insurer’s benefit (aka-saving money). It also can seriously restrict the doctor’s ability to recommend treatments they feel is best for the patient for fear of not getting paid or asked to leave the network. Most doctors are hopelessly stuck in this trap that has been evolving for many years.