Health & Safety Related Articles with Glossary of Insurance Terms

• Actuary
• Adverse Selection – Providing insurance disproportionately to those whose health puts them at a higher risk. Insurance companies are protected by law against having to insure those who are high risk.
• Advocacy Groups
• Agent – An individual who is licensed by a state to sell insurance products.
• Airbag Safety
• Allocated Benefits – The amount of money an insurance plan will pay for any given service. (usually, but not always found in indemnity plans).
• Alzheimer's Disease
• Americans With Disabilities Act
• Anatomy and Physiology Resources
• Anesthesia
• Antibiotic Resistance
• Asthma: what is it?
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Bioinformatics
• Biology Journals
• Biomedical Research
• Blindness – a lack or loss of vision which cannot be corrected with contact lenses or eyeglasses. read more »
• Broker – An agent who may work as an "independent" to offer multiple plans through several different carriers.
• "C is for Cookie"
• Cancer Related Websites
• Chronic Wasting Disease
• Coinsurance – The percentage of a health care bill for which you are responsible after your deductible has been paid. In general, the higher the deductible and coinsurance, the more affordable health insurance premiums become.
• Conversion Privileges – The right to change the type of coverage you have within a given company. You can usually convert a policy to anything else a company has; this does not apply to changing companies.
• Co-payment – A set amount that you must pay for any particular service such as $25.00 for an office visit. This is common among drug plans and HMO plans.
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Dangers of Smoking Cigarettes
• Deductible – The amount of money you have to pay each year before your insurance will begin to pay anything. The deductible counts toward your out of pocket max.
• Disabilities Guidelines
• Disease Hazards and Health Effects
• Doctor Recruiting Guidelines & Incentives
• Eating Disorders
• Effective Date – This is the date your coverage actually starts. Regardless of when you apply, you are not covered until you are approved and given an effective date.
• Eye Disease Resource
• Eukaryotic Cell
• Exclusions – A list of medical services that are not covered by your plan. This often refers to dental or vision care which is not covered by traditional plans unless you purchase an additional rider. Exclusions could also refer to specific conditions such as pregnancy or certain pre-existing conditions.
• Fee-For-Service – The insurance company pays the health care provider in an al a carte fashion. Each service such as office visit, blood tests, x-rays, etc., has a value assigned. Regardless of what the doctor charges, the insurance will not pay more than the listed amount for each procedure.
• Finding the Right Hospital
• Fire Safety for Kids
• Fitness Mistakes
• Foodborne Disease
• Fraudulent Medical Gadgets
• General Insurance Glossary
• Grace Period – This could be thought of as a "warning" period during which you have a chance to make up a missed premium before the policy is cancelled. Some companies will not pay your bill until the missed premium has been paid even though the policy is in the grace period.
• Health Education Professional Resources
• Health Sciences
• Heart Health & Disease Prevention
• Helping Kids Cope with Terrorist Attacks
• HIPPA – Stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This is a bill passed by congress which guards patient privacy and prevents financial advisors from making certain asset protecting recommendations to clients.
• History of Tobacco
• HMO – Stands for Health Maintenance Organization. HMO plans work with a network of doctors. You must have a primary care physician who will make recommendations to specialists or other doctors. Without the authorization of the primary provider, your bill will usually not be paid or will be paid at a lower rate.
• Holistic Health Terms Glossary
• Human Anatomy
• Human Body Systems: A Kid's Guide
• Indemnity – A type of insurance plan that pays according to a schedule rather than paying what is "reasonable and customary." In many cases, you can have both an indemnity plan and a traditional insurance plan as indemnity plans are often not regarded as insurance.
• Joint – A type of insurance coverage—usually life insurance—that covers two or more people on one policy.
• Kennedy-Kassebaum Act – Also referred to as the HIPPA act, this legislation was introduced by Senators Nancy Kassebaum and Edward Kennedy.
• Kids Nutrition
• Lifetime Limit – The maximum amount that can be paid for health care under the terms of your policy.
• Long Term Health Effects of Smoking
• Make Going to the Doctor Fun for Kids
• Maximum Out of Pocket – The maximum amount of money you will be expected to pay for health care in one year. You can have both an individual maximum and a family maximum. Premiums are not included.
• Medical Journal Directory
• Medicare – A type of insurance that is provided by the federal government for people who are age 65 or over or who qualify be reason of disability. (See our helpful guide.)
• Medicaid – Insurance provided for people who have extremely low income. Medicaid cannot be combined with any other health insurance except Medicare.
• Men's Health
• Nursing facility – A facility usually where services requiring "skilled nursing" can be performed. Most traditional plans will pay for a limited number of days of skilled nursing care only.
• Nursing Home Guide
• Nursing Programs
• Nursing Scholarship Opportunities
• Pediatric Pair Resources
• Peroxisomes and Related Diseases
• Physiology
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Pre-authorization – A requirement of most policies prior to having surgery or undergoing expensive tests or admission to a hospital. The insurance carrier must be notified for approval of the service.
• Preexisting Condition – Any illness or injury that existed prior to the effective date of coverage. Group plans must waive pre-existing clauses as long as coverage has been continuous, but private coverage can impose pre-existing clauses for any time period prior to the effective date.
• Premium – The amount you pay for your insurance coverage.
• Prescription Drug Assistance
• Prostate Cancer Treatment
• Radon, Mold and other air quality concerns
• Renewable – Most health insurance policies are "guaranteed renewable." That means your insurance cannot be canceled regardless of the number of claims. However, the premium can be increased.
• Rider – Additional coverage for an additional premium. Usually applies to coverage for vision, dental care, pregnancy or other conditions that may be ordinarily excluded.
• School Bus Safety
• Second Opinion – Many companies will pay for you to get an opinion from a different doctor, especially if it means that an intended procedure or surgery may be regarded as unnecessary by the second doctor.
• Short Term Medical – Coverage for a short time period, often 60 or 90 days. This type of coverage is not usually expensive and is intended to provide coverage during transition periods between jobs or during other periods when traditional group coverage may be unavailable.
• Short Term Disability – Often confused with disability insurance, short term disability is provided by an employer and usually continues your salary for a few weeks if you should have an injury or illness.
• Sick Building Syndrome
• SIDS Cause and Prevention
• Stress Health
• Stress Management
• Surgeon General
• Tetanus, facts about
• The Family and Medical Leave Act
• Top Ten Viruses
• Toxic Substances and Public Health - A real threat in our homes, workplaces and environment. read more »
• Traditional Plans – Traditional insurance is the most common type of health insurance. The insured pays a deductible and a co-insurance, and the insurance carrier pays the doctor according to a schedule of what is reasonable and customary.
• Trauma Nurse
• Underwriting – The process of examining your medical history to determine that you qualify for the type of coverage you are seeking. Underwriting enables a company to avoid adverse selection.
• Usual and Customary – The average cost or charge for a procedure within a geographic area. Thus, a doctor who works in an rural area where the cost of living may be less and equipment and supplies lower priced would expect to receive less from an insurance company than a doctor who worked in a large city.
• Veterans Health Administration
• Virology
• Waiting Period – The period of time, after the effective date of a policy,  that you must wait before services will be covered. This is often applied to pre-existing conditions.
• Women and Smoking
• Women's Health