First of all, Kaiser is an insurance company and PPO (Preferred Provider Organizations) is an insurance product. Most insurance companies such as Kaiser offer PPO. To help you understand better the different plans of health insurance, there are actually two categories. These are Managed Care and Fee-for-Service. PPO falls under Managed Care together with Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and Point-of-Service (POS) plans which Kaiser may also offer. Fee-for-Service is having your insurance pay for doctor's fee for each visit or service. Managed Care, on the other hand, may offer different health and medical services among member-providers. If your choices are available through your employer, you may ask your human resources department of the details. However, if you are in charge of looking for a new insurance plan you may ask for feedback from employees as to what would their needs be or how much are they willing to shell out on copays. You may also need to consider what services the employees may use and need often. You can inquire if they have preferred medical or health specialists who may or may not be a member of in-network provider say in Kaiser insurance. If you are looking for individual plans or for family, figure out what the health and medical services you want covered. Are you willing to pay a high premium with low deductible or a low premium with a high deductible? It might be better to find out if your doctor is a member of the in-network health providers. As mentioned earlier, Kaiser is a company that may offer PPO as a product. You may need another insurance company to compare with Kaiser. Research on their track record and ask for feedback from eisting policyholders. To get a more thorough eplanation on PPO and other plans, check with an insurance agent. Answer by Juliet Hansen - June 3, 2009 @ 6:36 pm