Health Insurance Glossary
- Balance Billing:
- The amount you could be responsible for (in addition to any co-payments, deductibles or coinsurance) if you use an out-of-network provider and the fee for a particular service exceeds the allowable charge for that service.
- Basic Hospital Expense Insurance:
- -see Hospitalization Insurance.
- Bed Days/1,000:
- A statistic used by health insurance companies describing the number of inpatient hospital days for each 1000 persons covered under a health insurance plan within a given time period.
- Benefit:
- A general term referring to any service (such as an office visit, laboratory test, surgical procedure, etc.) or supply (such as prescription drugs, durable medical equipment, etc.) covered by a health insurance plan in the normal course of a patient's healthcare.
- Benefit Level:
- The maximum amount a health insurance company agrees to pay for a specific covered benefit.
- Benefit Package:
- A description of the healthcare services and supplies that a health insurance company covers for members of a specific health insurance plan.
- Benefit Riders:
- This term may be used to describe ancillary products purchased in conjunction with a medical insurance plan.
- Benefit Year:
- The annual cycle in which a health insurance plan operates. At the beginning of your benefit year, the health insurance company may alter plan benefits and update rates. Some benefit years follow the calendar year, renewing in January, whereas others may renew in late summer or fall.
- Binding Receipt:
- When you submit an application for health insurance and include an initial payment, the health insurance company may provide you with a binding receipt. A binding receipt indicates that, if coverage is approved, the health insurance company is required to initiate coverage from the date on which payment was received.
- Birthday Rule:
- One method used by health insurance companies to determine which parent's health insurance coverage will be primary for a dependent child, when both parents have separate coverage. Typically, the health insurance plan of the parent whose birthday falls earliest in the year will be considered primary. For more information, see also, COB.
- Board-certified:
- A board-certified physician is one that has successfully completed an educational program and evaluation process approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties, including an examination designed to assess the knowledge, skills and experience required to provide quality patient care in a specific specialty.
- Broker:
- Though sometimes used in a sense synonymous with the term agent, a broker typically works to match applicants with a health insurance company or plan best matched to their needs. The broker is paid a commission by the insurance company, but represents the applicant rather than the insurance company itself.
- Business License:
- A license from a governmental agency authorizing an individual or an employer to conduct business.
- Business Structure:
- A state-designated legal structure that governs business taxes, liability, and operational requirements. Examples include: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or LLC.
please note, however, that definitions of certain terms may vary across insurance companies.
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