What does health insurance cover?

The real trade is freedom for money: a PPO lets you see out-of-network doctors and skip referrals, and you pay for that option every month whether or not you use it; an HMO takes those options away and usually charges less.

Term buys the most death benefit per dollar for the years your family actually depends on your income and then expires; whole life costs several times more for the same coverage because it's guaranteed to eventually pay out and doubles as a conservative savings vehicle.

Inside the network, an EPO and a PPO feel almost identical — no referrals, direct specialist access; the entire difference is what happens when you step outside the network: the PPO pays something, the EPO pays nothing.

This is really a comparison of when you pay, not whether: the HDHP charges less monthly but makes you pay full negotiated prices until a high deductible is met — sweetened by HSA access — while the traditional PPO charges more every month so that care is cheap at the point of use.

Both plans draw the same hard line — no out-of-network coverage except emergencies — so the real difference is inside the fence: the HMO makes a primary care physician the doorway to everything, while the EPO lets you walk straight to any in-network specialist.