We should have a law requires HMO orthopedic doctor to help their patients in emergency cases. It is inhumane to deny service to an injured HMO patients in an emergency and send them to their primary doctor or emergency room. This is not good to the patient in pain and it cause more to visit two doctors instead of one who can actually help.
My wife broke her leg one day and was very close to the orthopedic doctor at the time. The doctor decline to see her because my HMO insurance requires her to see the primary doctor first or go to ER. Having long wait experience at ER previously, I took my wife to the primary doctor and hope we can resolve this quickly. We end up having to visit the primary, to an x-ray lab, back to the primary then to the orthopedic in pain. This cost more money.