Final answer:
The type of Health Maintenance Organization where physicians and healthcare professionals are directly employed is known as a Staff Model HMO. It contrasts with other models by offering fixed salaries to healthcare providers, moving away from fee-for-service systems. Therefore, in the context of the question, the correct option is B. Staff Model.
Step-by-step explanation:
Within the realm of healthcare management, an Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) comes in various models. For the model where the HMO directly employs physicians and healthcare professionals to provide healthcare services to its members, the accurate term is a Staff Model HMO. In this arrangement, healthcare providers are salaried employees of the HMO and work at its facilities, which differentiates it from other HMO arrangements like the Group Model, Network Model, Integrated Delivery Systems, or Exclusive Provider Organizations.
In a fee-for-service system, providers are reimbursed for each service they provide, while in a Staff Model HMO, they receive a fixed salary regardless of the number of services rendered. Over the last few decades, there has been a transition from fee-for-service to HMOs and other managed care organizations, aimed at reducing moral hazard by providing set payments that cover all care, thereby incentivizing healthcare providers to deliver efficient and necessary care without the excesses of fee-for-service that may drive up costs.