Blue Cross PPO vs. LA Care

I'm currently on Cobra from my previous employer, where I had Blue Cross / Blue Shield PPO. My Cobra expires at the end of this month and I will need to pay out of pocket. I was quoted ~$1,400/month for Blue Cross PPO (!) "Gold 80" plan with $0 deductible and $1k/month for the "Silver 1750" plan that has a $1,750 deductible.

On the other hand, the LA Care HMO is $670/month with $0 deductible and max annual out-of-pocket of $8,700 or $620/month with a $5400 deductible (which doesn't make sense). I confirmed that my network is available on the LA Care HMO.

I have front-loaded all of my key medical appointments this year and was thinking of signing with the LA Care HMO, at least through the end of the year and then evaluate changing to the PPO when open enrollment opens. My reliance on LA Care should be minimal for the rest of the year and, again, my doctors are all available through that network which is nice (but I'm not sure if their availability is different for HMO policy holders vs. PPO policy holders).

Does anyone have thoughts on: 1) LA Care HMO, and 2) my proposed strategy above? I'm no expert in the world of health insurance so appreciate anyone's guidance.

submitted by /u/latribri
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