> This is not particularly novel. There are already integrated HMOs, like Kaiser Permanente and Group Health Cooperative, that function in a similar way Integr

> This is not particularly novel. There are already integrated HMOs, like Kaiser Permanente and Group Health Cooperative, that function in a similar way Integrated practice is distinct from HMOs, though they might appear to be similar. Kaiser us an integrated practice and also provides and manages an HMO, but not all Kaiser patients belong to the HMO > they have integrated systems so physicians are not spending time dealing with claims--and besides, the physicians do all their work for this one health plan, so there's no web of insurance companies. Not exactly. Kaiser physicians still have to do all the work of coding and billing, except for them, the billing is all reconciled by a single entity and managed internally. That's different from direct care, in which the billing step literally does not happen, because the patient self-pays, usual in-person.