Please note: Some of these terms have specific legal definitions, as well as the common definitions used here.

Accusation
The official charging document which alleges violations of the Knox-Keene Act by the health plan.

acute care
Medical care that you need right away but only for a short time

appeal
A request to your health plan asking it to solve a problem or change a decision because you are not satisfied (An appeal is sometimes called a complaint or a grievance.)

arbitration
A way to solve disputes between health plans and patients without filing a formal lawsuit and going to court (In arbitration, the health plan and the patient select an independent person to settle the dispute, instead of a judge or jury.)

authorization or pre-authorization
The process of getting approval from your health plan or medical group before you get services (also called approval or prior approval)

balance billing
When a provider in your health plan's network sends you a bill for the amount that is more than the contracted rate with the plan. Balance billing can also happen when a non-contracted provider who works in a hospital, such as an anesthesiologist, radiologist, pathologist, or emergency room physician, sends you a bill for the part of the charges that your health plan does not pay.

benefit
A service covered by your health insurance

benefits package
All the services covered by your health insurance

capitated basis
[Cal. Code Reg. § 1300.76(f)] - fixed per member per month payment or percentage of premium payment wherein the provider assumes the full risk for the cost of contracted services without regard to the type, value or frequency of services provided. For purposes of this definition, capitated basis includes the cost associated with operating staff model facilities.

cash-to-claims ratio
[Cal. Code Reg. § 1300.75.4(f)] - an organization's cash, readily available marketable securities and receivables, excluding all risk pool, risk-sharing, incentive payment program and pay-for-performance receivables, reasonably anticipated to be collected within 60 days divided by the organization's unpaid claims (claims payable and incurred but not reported [IBNR] claims) liability.

Cease and Desist Order
An order of the DMHC to a person or organization to refrain from any act that violates the Knox-Keene Act.

chronic care
Care for a long-term health problem, such as asthma, diabetes, or congestive heart failure

chronic disease
A health problem that goes away and comes back, or that lasts your whole life, such as diabetes, asthma, or high blood pressure

claim
A request to your health plan to pay a bill for a health care service (Usually your provider files the claim. You can file a claim yourself if you paid for the service up-front.)

COBRA/Cal-COBRA
Laws that help you and your family keep your group health insurance if your job ends or your hours are cut

complaint
A request to your health plan or to the HMO Help Center asking it to solve a problem or change a decision because you are not satisfied (A complaint is sometimes called a grievance or an appeal.)

consent form
A form you sign that says you agree to receive a certain health care service or treatment, and you are aware of side effects that you may have

conservator
An independent consultant assigned to oversee a health plan that has been seized by the DMHC.

continuity of care
Your right to continue seeing your doctor in certain cases, even if your doctor leaves your health plan or medical group

co-payment/co-pay
A fee you pay each time you see a doctor, get other services, or fill a prescription

creditable coverage
The amount of time you were covered by a previous health plan (You can reduce your new plan's pre-existing condition exclusion by one month for every month you had creditable coverage, as long as the gap in coverage between your previous plan and your new plan is 62 days or less.)

deductible
The amount you must pay for covered health services each year before your health plan starts to pay

dependent
A person who is covered by another person's health plan, such as a child or a spouse

durable medical equipment (DME)
Medical equipment, like hospital beds and wheelchairs, which can be used over and over again

end-stage renal disease (ESRD)
Severe kidney failure that needs lifetime dialysis or a kidney transplant

enrollee
A person who is enrolled in a health plan (An enrollee is also called a member or a subscriber.)

Evidence of Coverage (EOC)
A written guide to the services your health plan covers and does not cover and what you pay for services (An EOC is also called a contract or letter of entitlement.)

exclusions
Medical services that a health plan will not pay for (These are usually listed in your Evidence of Coverage.)

expedited review
A fast review of a complaint, grievance, or appeal if your medical problem is serious or urgent (A health plan must decide an expedited review in 3 days.)

formulary/drug formulary
A list of the prescription drugs that your health plan covers

gap in coverage
More than 62 days in a row without health insurance (This can affect your eligibility for HIPAA or conversion plans).

generic drug
A drug that is no longer owned and patented by one company (A generic drug has the same active ingredients as the brand name drug, but it costs less. For example, Valium is the brand name version and Diazepam is the generic version of the same tranquilizer.)

grievance
A request to your health plan, asking your plan to solve a problem or change a decision (A grievance is sometimes called an appeal or a complaint.)

group health insurance
Health insurance that you get through a group, such as your employer or union

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
A kind of health plan

hospice care
Care to relieve the physical and emotional pain of people who are dying of terminal illnesses, and to support the person's family caregivers (Hospice care is usually provided at home, but it can also be provided in a health facility.)

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
A law that protects your rights to get health insurance and to keep your medical records private.

home health care
Health care that you receive in your home when you need continued treatment after surgery or hospitalization for an illness or injury

Incurred But Not Reported (IBNR)
an estimation used to develop a cash reserve to cover claims obligations for medical services that have been authorized or provided, but not yet received by the RBO.

Independent Medical Review (IMR)
A review of your health plan's denial of your request for a certain service or treatment (The review is provided by the Department of Managed Health Care and conducted by independent medical experts, and your heath plan must pay for the service if an IMR decides you need it.)

individual health insurance
Insurance you buy on your own, not as part of a group

primary care
General health care services, such as a check-up or treatment for a cold or ear infection (You usually get your primary care from a family practice doctor or an internal medicine doctor who is your primary care doctor. Children usually get their primary care from a pediatrician.)

primary care provider/physician (PCP)
Your main doctor, who provides most of your care (In an HMO, your PCP coordinates all your health care services and treatments and sends you to a specialist when you need one.)

provider
A professional person, medical group, clinic, lab, hospital, or other health facility licensed by the state to provide health care services

risk-bearing organization (RBO)
[Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1375.4 (g)] - a professional medical corporation, other form of corporation controlled by physicians and surgeons, a medical partnership, a medical foundation exempt from licensure pursuant to subdivision (l) of Section 1206, or another lawfully organized group of physicians that delivers, furnishes, or otherwise arranges for or provides health care services, but does not include an individual or a health care service plan, and that does all of the following:

• Contracts directly with a health care service plan or arranges for health care services for the health care service plan's enrollees.
• Receives compensation for those services on any capitated or fixed periodic payment basis.
• Is responsible for the processing and payment of claims made by providers for services rendered by those providers on behalf of a health care service plan that are covered under the capitation or fixed periodic payment made by the plan to the risk-bearing organization. Nothing in this subparagraph in any way limits, alters, or abrogates any responsibility of a health care service plan under existing law.

second opinion
Advice you get from a second doctor after the first doctor has made a diagnosis or recommended a certain treatment and you want to make sure it is the right diagnosis or decision for you

service area
All the zip codes that a health plan serves

specialist
A doctor who has extra training in a certain medical field, such as an orthopedist (for bones) or a cardiologist (for your heart)

sponsoring organization arrangement
[Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1375.4(b)(1)(B)] - a formal arrangement whereby an RBO may reduce its liabilities for purposes of calculating tangible net equity and working capital by the amount of liabilities the payment of which is guaranteed by a sponsoring organization. A sponsoring organization is one that has a tangible net equity of a level to be established by the director that is in excess of all amounts that it has guaranteed to any person or entity. A qualified guarantee is one that meets all of the following: (i) It is approved by a board resolution of the sponsoring organization. (ii) The sponsoring organization agrees to submit audited annual financial statements to the plan within 120 days of the end of the sponsoring organization's fiscal year. (iii) The guarantee is unconditional except for a maximum monetary limit. (iv) The guarantee is not limited in duration with respect to liabilities arising during the term of the guarantee. (v) The guarantee provides for six months' advance notice to the plan prior to its cancellation.

standing referral
A referral to a doctor or other provider for on-going treatment for a long-term disabling or life-threatening illness

step therapy
A process that some health plans have, in which you must try a lower-cost drug for your condition and if that drug does not work, then you can try a more costly drug

Stipulation
An agreement between the health plan and the DMHC that may contain promises, findings, and/or corrective actions.

subscriber
A person who is enrolled in a health plan (also called an enrollee or member)

tangible net equity
[Cal. Code Reg. § 1300.76(e)] - net equity reduced by the value assigned to intangible assets including, but not limited to, goodwill; going concern value; organizational expense; starting-up costs; obligations of officers, directors, owners, or affiliates which are not fully secured, except short-term obligations of affiliates for goods or services arising in the normal course of business which are payable on the same terms as equivalent transactions with non affiliates and which are not past due; long term prepayments of deferred charges, and non returnable deposits. An obligation is fully secured for the purposes of this subsection if it is secured by tangible collateral, other than by securities of the plan or an affiliate, with an equity of at least 110 percent of the amount owing.

urgent care
Care for a health problem that is not an emergency but needs attention quickly, before you can get in to see your doctor or if your doctor's office is closed

underwriting
A process that a health insurance company uses to look at an applicant's health history in order to decide whether to accept the applicant and how much to charge

waiting period
The time you must wait before your health plan covers care for a pre-existing condition (A waiting period begins on the date your benefits start.)

working capital
[Cal. Health & Safety Code §1375.4(b)(iii) and Cal. Code Reg. § 1300.75.4.2(a)(4)] - current assets over current liabilities calculated in a manner consistent with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

yearly out-of-pocket maximum
The most you have to pay for covered health services in a year (Once you have paid this amount, your health plan pays all of your covered health care costs.)