Health Insurance Glossary
- IPA (Individual Practice Association):
- An organization of physicians who may maintain separate offices but who negotiate contracts with insurance companies and medical facilities as a group. Some health insurance applications will ask you to provide your primary care physician's IPA number. It can usually be found in the health insurance plan's online directory.
- In-area Services:
- Healthcare services rendered within a health insurance plan's coverage area.
- Incontestable Clause:
- A provision in an insurance policy that states that the validity of the insurance contract cannot be contested after two (or sometimes three) years.
- Indemnity Plan:
- Also called "fee-for-service" plans, Indemnity plans typically allow you to direct your own health care and visit whatever doctors or hospitals you like. The insurance company then pays a set portion of your total charges. You may be required to pay for some services up front and then apply to the insurance company for reimbursement. Indemnity plans typically require that you fulfill an annual deductible. Because of the freedom they allow members, Indemnity plans are sometimes more expensive than other types of plans.
- An Indemnity plan may be right for you if:
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- You want the greatest level of freedom possible in choosing which doctors or hospitals to visit
- You don't mind coordinating the billing and reimbursement of your claims yourself
- Individual and Family Health Insurance:
- A type of health insurance purchased by an individual or family, independent of any employer group or organization.
- Infertility:
- Typically, infertility services include any medical services, both inpatient and outpatient, to assist with the conception of child.
- Inpatient:
- A term used to describe a person admitted to a hospital for at least 24 hours. It may also be used to describe the care rendered in a hospital when the duration of the stay is at least 24 hours.
- Integrated Delivery System:
- A group of doctors, hospitals and other providers who work together to deliver a broad range of healthcare services.
- Intermediate Care:
- A level of nursing care, considered less intensive than skilled nursing care, but which may be rendered in a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility.
please note, however, that definitions of certain terms may vary across insurance companies.
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