Health Insurance Definitions A - M

Browse Investopedia’s expert-written library to learn more about the vocabulary surrounding health insurance.

Doctor taking the blood pressure of an older man
What Are Medicare Special Needs Plans?
Health Insurance
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
Hsa Custodian: What It Is, Cost, Example
Health Savings Account (HSA): A tax-advantaged account for individuals with high-deductible health plans to save for medical expenses that those plans do not cover.
Understanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): Benefits, Rules & Limits
A couple sitting at a table review documents.
Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA): What It Is, How It Works
Coinsurance
Coinsurance: Definition, How It Works, and Example
Medical costs
Medical Cost Ratio (MCR): What it is, How it Works, Example
Doctor
Understanding Commercial Health Insurance: Types, Definitions, Examples
Medicaid: What It Is, How It Works, Special Conditions
doctor talking with senior male patient in clinic waiting room
Understanding Capitation Payments: How They Work and Impact Healthcare
What You Need to Know About High-Deductible Health Plans in 2025
Affordable Care Act
Group Health Insurance: What It Is, How It Works, Benefits
Issue-Age Policy: What It Is, How It Works
A doctor in a hospital selecting papers off the wall
Catastrophic Illness Insurance: What It Is, How It Works
Health Plan Categories: What They Are, Comparisons
Image of businesspeople’s hands with ballpoint pens, writing on papers while planning work
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs): Meaning, Drawbacks
An older woman sits at a kitchen table looking at bills
Medicare Hold Harmless Provision: What It Is, How It Works
Female doctor greeting a girl in wheelchair
Hardship Exemption: What It Means, How It Works
Doctor prescribing medicines to patient
Medicare Supplement Insurance: What It Is, How It Works
A stethoscope on a hundred dollar bill
Medical Expenses: Definition, Examples, Tax Implications
Prescription drugs on a pharmacy counter.
Creditable Coverage: Requirements, Pre-Existing Conditions
Hand Is Writing Employee Benefits in a Note
Benefit Allowance: Definition, Purposes, and Types
Elder Care Facility
Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance: Definition, Costs, Alternatives
A doctor explaining the drugs in the prescription to senior patient
Medical Savings Account (MSA): Meaning, History, Types
Doctor Going Over Test Results With Patient
Understanding Capitated Contracts and Key Examples
ACA Health Insurance Marketplace: What It Is, How It Works
What is Health Insurance?
Understanding Health Insurance: Coverage, Costs, and How It Works
Older couple meeting with a consultant to discuss paperwork
What Is Medicare? How It Works, Who Qualifies, and How To Enroll
Wall Street street sign outside New York Stock Exchange
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Elderly Man Talking To Doctor About Test Results
Medical Underwriting: Overview and Benefits
An older woman and her adult daughter look at a laptop together in a living room
Medicare Advantage: Overview, Types, FAQs
Medigap insurance inscription and stethoscope
Medigap: What It Means, How It Works, History
Health Insurance Form
Ancillary Benefits: What They are, Benefits
Pipette adding sample to petri dish with DNA profiles.
European Medicines Agency (EMA): Meaning and Examples
Doctor and businessman shaking hands.
Case Management: Types, Examples and FAQs
Carryover Provision: What It Means, How It Works, Example
What Are Intellectual Property Rights in Biotechnology?
New York Stock Exchange
Certificate of Need (CON): What it Means, How it Works, Example
Woman pointing to a heart symbol.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Biotechnology: A science-driven industry sector that uses living organisms and their derivatives to produce products and processes.
Biotechnology
Wall Street street sign outside New York Stock Exchange
Grandfathered Health Plan: What It is, How It Works
Actuarial Value: What It Is, How It Works
Nurse Talking to Patient in Hospital
Allied Healthcare Professional Liability Insurance
Children and Teachers Playing and Making Music in Kindergarten
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA): Meaning, Overview
City Background with People Walking by Building Reflections
Minimum Essential Coverage: What It Means, How It Works
Catastrophic Health Insurance: What It Is, How It Works
Doctor talking to a mother holding her child in a hospital
Limited Purpose Flexible Spending Arrangement (LPFSA): Overview