Word of the day

Thursday, September 18

Family Glitch

An unintended consequence of the Affordable Care Act when an employee is offered affordable ESI through their work place but the coverage offer is not extended to the employees’ family, or is unaffordable for the family. This leaves the employees’ spouse and/or children both ineligible for exchange subsidies and without access to other affordable coverage.

Wednesday, September 17

High-Risk Pool

State programs aimed at offering health insurance to individuals considered uninsurable and unable to buy coverage on the individual market.

Tuesday, September 16

Platinum Plan

The highest actuarial level health plans available through the insurance exchanges, equal to a 90 percent actuarial value. Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans offer lower actuarial values.

Monday, September 15

Elder Justice Act

A Provision of the ACA designed to protect the elderly from being targets of physical or psychological harm within the health care system.

Friday, September 12

Electronic Medical Record

A digital record of health information of individual patients shared across health care settings. Also known as an Electronic Health Record.

Thursday, September 11

Medicare Part D

A program within Medicare to offer private prescription drug coverage plans to beneficiaries. Plan premiums are subsidized and the coverage is optional.

Wednesday, September 10

Pay or Play

Colloquial term for an ACA provision requiring employers to offer health insurance or pay a fine.

Tuesday, September 9

Medicaid Integrity Institute (MII)

A national Medicaid program integrity training center for States, established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Education. The MII focuses on providing training, technical assistance, and support to State Medicaid program integrity employees.

Monday, September 8

Cafeteria Plan

A supplement to traditional coverage allowing employees to set up Flexible Spending Accounts. These accounts allow employees to set aside up to $2,500 in wages annually, tax free. Funds in Flexible Spending Account can be used to cover expenses not covered by the employee's health insurance, such as over the counter medication, dental work, co-pays, or deductibles.

Friday, September 5

COBRA

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. Through this act employees are able to continue their employer-sponsored coverage for up to 18 months if they lose their job. The original legislation required individuals to pay full premiums to continue their coverage through COBRA. A temporary subsidy of 65% of the premium cost for the purchase of COBRA coverage for individuals who have lost their jobs between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 was provided through The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Kaiser Subsidy Calculator

An online tool developed by the Kaiser Family Foundation which calculates one’s ACA exchange insurance subsidy based on one’s income.