The HMO-Secure Horizons plan is a Medicare Advantage HMO plan offering customers a model of healthcare requiring they select a local primary care provider responsible for overseeing and coordinating their general care (United Healthcare, 2006). If a patient signs up for this plan, they must first review a list of contracted doctors that work with the plan and work with contracted hospitals that participate in this HMO plan. Most patients are limited to care received from contracted doctors only, or doctors directly affiliated with the HMO network, unless an emergency arises. In this case, as in a case where you may be out of state, the plan will typically cover medical care received. Unfortunately, this may mean plan participants have to change doctors if their doctor is not currently one that contracts with the Secure Horizons HMO Medicare plan. This can be a cause for concern and distress especially among the elderly, or individuals who have seen a doctor for an extended time and created a lasting relationship.
             Patients enrolling in the Secure Horizons HMO have a choice of plan coverage, some of which offer prescription drug coverage, recognized by many as Part D coverage. This type of coverage proves increasingly important for older or elder citizens who typically have more prescription needs than younger patients (Okunade, 2006). Nurses and doctors play an important role in educating consumers about their health care coverage and prescription drug plans, especially considering most patients are not confident of the information they receive directly from the company websites they visit to find information on their healthcare provisions (Hong, 2006). Most patients who sign with a healthcare plan as this must lock in for a minimum amount of time and must pay a deductible, one that is often high in order to keep monthly premiums low. When the Medicare Part D plan was introduced, many believed participants
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