EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: Northern Colorado will jump — or be pushed — to HMOs

Northern Colorado has been slower than the rest of the Front Range to embrace managed-care options for health care, but that soon could change.

Essentially, managed care lowers health-care costs while also limiting options. A health-maintenance organization, for example, will contract with health-care providers for their services, paying them upfront to treat members.
In return, the HMO restricts members from using physicians and other providers not in the system. Thus, HMO members might not be able to see the physician they want, and it’s often more difficult to see a specialist — at least when a physician might do.
In Larimer…