HMO
noun
: an organization that provides comprehensive health care to voluntarily enrolled individuals and families in a particular geographic area by member physicians with limited referral to outside specialists and that is financed by fixed periodic payments determined in advance
called also health maintenance organization
Examples of HMO in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Representatives of Rocky Mountain HMO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
—
Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2025
Post-War Decisions Eroded Hard-Won Gains Instead of recognizing the value of military health, budget officials in the Pentagon viewed the MHS as little more than an HMO for beneficiaries.
—Arthur L. Kellermann, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
That represents about 40% of the 1.5 million active and retired state workers and family members who are enrolled in the system’s HMO and PPO plans.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 29 July 2025
Fortuitously for patients, the UC-Anthem negotiations reached a new contract before HMO patients were forced to choose new primary care physicians, and, no doubt, many are hoping that will be the case again.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2025
The profit motive meant that HMO administrators had an incentive to discourage patient utilization of medical services, often leading to understaffed facilities in an attempt to reduce costs and increase profits.
—Time, 6 May 2025
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Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2025
Post-War Decisions Eroded Hard-Won Gains Instead of recognizing the value of military health, budget officials in the Pentagon viewed the MHS as little more than an HMO for beneficiaries.
—Arthur L. Kellermann, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
That represents about 40% of the 1.5 million active and retired state workers and family members who are enrolled in the system’s HMO and PPO plans.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 29 July 2025
Fortuitously for patients, the UC-Anthem negotiations reached a new contract before HMO patients were forced to choose new primary care physicians, and, no doubt, many are hoping that will be the case again.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2025
The profit motive meant that HMO administrators had an incentive to discourage patient utilization of medical services, often leading to understaffed facilities in an attempt to reduce costs and increase profits.
—Time, 6 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“HMO.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/HMO. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
HMO
noun
plural HMOs
: an organization that provides comprehensive health care to voluntarily enrolled individuals and families in a particular geographic area by member physicians with limited referral to outside specialists and that is financed by fixed periodic payments determined in advance
called also health maintenance organization
compare ppoLove words? Need even more definitions?
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