In Healthcare, the landscape is always changing. One of the new models of care is provided by an entity called a Medical Group.

Here is how Medical Groups work:

Health plans contract with groups of doctors to provide health care. These groups of doctors are called Medical Groups. Medical groups can range from small practices with several doctors to very large organizations with hundreds of doctors. While a smaller number of health plans insure most people, there are hundreds of medical groups in each State.

When first learning about different options, the difference between a Medical Group and the health plan sometimes isn’t clear.

The Medical Group role is to care for the patients. This work is done by the doctors, nurses, therapists and other professionals within the medical group. They may be partners within the group, or employees of the Medical Group.

Medical Groups are also different from an Independent Physician Association, though it has some similarities.

Each health plan is responsible for seeing that its members get care easily by contracting with enough Medical Groups and their doctors in a local area. This makes it convenient for members to get care nearby.

Sometimes people confuse a Medical Group with their insurance plan or think it is a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO).  The health plan pays for the care and typically makes the rules to determine the types of care that are covered, but Medical Groups provide the service.