Glossary

This is the level of fluid in the body. The loss of fluid, or dehydration, occurs when you lose more water or fluid than you take in. Your body cannot keep adequate blood pressure, get enough oxygen and nutrients to the cells, or get rid of wastes if it has too little fluid.

This is a method or instrument to estimate or monitor the extent to which the actions of a health care practitioner or provider conform to practice guidelines, medical review criteria, or standards of quality.

This is a Medicaid program for beneficiaries who need help in paying for Medicare services. The beneficiary must have Medicare Part A and limited income and resources. For those who qualify, the Medicaid program pays Medicare Part A premiums, Part B premiums, and Medicare deductibles and coinsurance amounts for Medicare services.

This is a Medicaid program for beneficiaries who need help in paying for Medicare Part B premiums. The beneficiary must have Medicare Part A and limited income and resources and not be otherwise eligible for Medicaid. For those who qualify, the Medicaid program pays full Medicare Part B premiums only.

This is a Medicaid program for beneficiaries who need help in paying for Medicare Part B premiums. The beneficiary must have Medicare Part A and limited income and resources and not be otherwise eligible for Medicaid. For those who qualify, Medicaid pays a percentage of Medicare Part B premiums only.

This is a healthcare-specific lane on the Information Superhighway, as described in the National Information Infrastructure (NII) initiative. Conceptually, this includes the HIPAA A/S initiatives.

These services include bed and board, nursing services, diagnostic or therapeutic services, and medical or surgical services.

These include differentials between hospital labor and non-labor indices compared with general economy labor and non-labor indices; rates of admission incidence; the trend toward treating less complicated cases in outpatient settings; and continued improvement in DRG coding.

These are standards that States set for plan structure, operations, and the internal quality improvement/assurance system that each MCO/PHP must have in order to participate in the Medicaid program.

These are entities, which contract between an MCO or one of its subcontractors and a physician or physician group, other than physician groups themselves. An IPA is considered to be an intermediate entity if it contracts with one or more physician groups in addition to contracting with individual physicians.