Glossary |
Our glossary of terms explains the jargon and defines the common acronyms you will come across at Health Care Reform Plans. Please email us at editor@reformplans.com to make comments or with suggestions about the Glossary.
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| Retail healthcare clinics | Retail healthcare clinics are clinics based at retail stores including Wal-Mart, CVS, Target, and Walgreen’s. These retailers partner with “miniclinic” providers such as RediClinic and MinuteClinic. The clinics are staffed mainly by nurse practitioners who treat patients for routine conditions; however, in New York City, the retail clinic has upgraded to become the “walk-in doctor’s office” at Duane Reade stores. Critics of retail clinics argue that they do not offer comprehensive care, that they are not adequately regulated, and that retailers unethically steer patients to fill prescriptions at their stores. Advocates say the clinics are held to the same high standards as doctors’ offices and that they offer a faster and less expensive alternative to the doctor’s office or emergency room.
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| SCHIP bill | A SCHIP bill (or CHIP bill) is a proposed law relating to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the national program that provides insurance to children and families deemed too poor to buy private insurance but who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.
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| Shared Responsibility | “Shared Responsibility” is an aspect of Democratic U.S. Presidential Candidate John Edward’s universal healthcare plan. It would require employers to offer full coverage to their employees or help finance their insurance; it also aims to expand federal programs; create regional healthcare markets, and increase choices among insurance companies; and require everyone to get insurance. (See johnedwards.com/issues/health-care/.)
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| Single-payor system | Single-payor system (or single-payer system) is a type of financing system in healthcare in which a single entity collects all healthcare fees and pays out all healthcare costs. Under a single-payor system, healthcare providers (doctors, hospitals, etc.) bill one entity (a single organization, or the government, for example) for services. Currently in the United States, there are many different healthcare organizations and tens of thousands of payors. This means, for example, that a doctor’s office has to fill out a variety of forms and deal with a complex billing system. Proponents of a single-payor system for the United States say that such a setup would cut back on administrative waste and save money that could be applied to providing care. (See Payor.)
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| Sliding scale | Sliding scale fees are costs for services that are based on a person’s income and ability to pay. Sliding scale fees in healthcare allow lower-income people to receive services that would otherwise be out of their financial reach.
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| Standards-based | Standards-based means that a medical practice or technology is in line with the current industry standards of healthcare. This term is often used in conjunction with information technology and medical health records.
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| State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) | The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a program that was created in 1997 (part of the Social Security Act) to offer health insurance to more than 5 million uninsured children in the United States. SCHIP is a program of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that is funded by a partnership between federal and state governments, and implemented by the states. It is designed for families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but who cannot afford private insurance. (See cms.hhs.gov/home/schip.asp.)
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| State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Waiver | A State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Waiver. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), states using the SCHIP can apply to the CMS to ask for a certain degree of flexibility in administering it. For example, Louisiana and other states affected by Hurricane Katrina (2006) were granted a waiver of certain federal requirements of the program so they could expedite care, offer additional SCHIP healthcare coverage for children, and better meet the needs of low-income evacuees. (See cms.hhs.gov/NationalSCHIPPolicy/.)
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| The Federation of American Hospitals (FA) | The Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) is a health policy organization that represents “investor-owned or managed community hospitals and health systems” throughout the United States to the U.S. Congress and other organizations (see fah.org).
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| U.S. Department of Health and Human Serv | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the federal government’s agency for “protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves” (see www.hhs.gov). The more than 300 programs provided through HHS include Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, research projects, and programs for medical for emergencies, including potential terrorism.
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