Talking about insurance can be extremely confusing and can sound like a different language. At Cosmo
Insurance Agency we make it easy to understand for you. Here is a cheat sheet of terms to know when talking about insurance:
Premium– Monthly bill to your insurance company
Affordable Care Act– The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or, colloquially, Obamacare, is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.
Affordable insurance exchange– Otherwise known as the Health Insurance Market Place. These exchanges exists at the state and federal levels and allow individuals, families, and small businesses, to learn about health insurance plans that best suit their needs.
Cancellations– under the ACs are no longer allowed to cancel health coverage because you made a mistake on your application. Companies can cancel your coverage if you knowingly falsified information on your application or if you don’t pay your premium.
Copayments– a fixed amount of money that you must pay for healthcare services.
Deductible– amount of money you pay out of pocket for medical care.
COBRA-The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. This is a federal law that gives you a right, for a limited period of time, to continue with the group insurance plan your employer offered. Even after you leave a job voluntarily or involuntarily.
Healthcare plan categories– The insurance marketplace is divided up into four metallic categories: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. These plans differ depending on how much you pay versus how much the plan pays.
HIPAA-Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act- law that sets the standard for protecting sensitive patient data. Any company that deals with protected health information (PHI) must ensure that all the required physical, network, and process security measures are in place and followed.
source: http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20457016,00.html
