Managed Care Glossary of Terms

Major Medical Expense Insurance
Policies designed to help offset the heavy medical expenses resulting from catastrophic or prolonged illness or injury. They generally provide benefits payments for 75 to 80 percent of most types of medical expenses above a deductible paid by the insured.

Malpractice Insurance
Insurance against the risk of suffering financial damage due to professional misconduct or lack of ordinary skill. Malpractice requires that the patient prove some injury and that the injury was the result of negligence on the part of the professional. A practitioner is liable for damages or injuries caused by malpractice.

Managed Behavioral Health Program
A program of managed care specific to psychiatric or behavioral health care. This usually is a result of a "carve-out" by an insurance company or managed care organization (MCO). Reimbursement may be in the form of sub-capitation, fee for service or capitation. See also Carve-Out.

Managed Care
Systems and techniques used to control the use of health care services. Includes a review of medical necessity, incentives to use certain providers, and case management. The body of clinical, financial and organizational activities designed to ensure the provision of appropriate health care services in a cost-efficient manner. Managed care techniques are most often practiced by organizations and professionals which assume risk for a defined population (e.g., health maintenance organizations) but this is not always the case. Managed care is a broad term and encompasses many different types of organizations, payment mechanisms, review mechanisms and collaborations. Managed care is sometimes used as a general term for the activity of organizing doctors, hospitals, and other providers into groups in order to enhance the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Managed Care Organizations (MCO) include HMO, PPO, POS, EPO, PHO, IDS, AHP, IPA, etc. Usually when one speaks of a managed care organization, one is speaking of the entity which manages risk, contracts with providers, is paid by employers or patient groups, or handles claims processing. Managed care has effectively formed a "go-between", brokerage or 3rd party arrangement by existing as the gatekeeper between payers and providers and patients. The term managed care is often misunderstood, as it refers to numerous aspects of healthcare management, payment and organization. It is best to ask the speaker to clarify what he or she means when using the term "managed care". In the purest sense, all people working in healthcare and medical insurance can be thought of as "managing care." Any system of health payment or delivery arrangements where the plan attempts to control or coordinate use of health services by its enrolled members in order to contain health expenditures, improve quality, or both. Arrangements often involve a defined delivery system of providers with some form of contractual arrangement with the plan. See Health Maintenance Organization, Independent Practice Association, Preferred Provider Organization.

MCO) Managed Care organization
A health plan that seeks to manage care. Generally, this involves contracting with health care providers to deliver health care services on a capitated (per-member per-month) basis. (For specific types of managed care organizations, see also health maintenance organization and independent practice association.

Managed Care Plan
A health plan that uses managed care arrangements and has a defined system of selected providers that contract with the plan. Enrollees have a financial incentive to use participating providers that agree to furnish a broad range of services to them. Providers may be paid on a pre-negotiated basis. (See also Health Maintenance Organization, Point-of-Service Plan, and Preferred Provider Organization.)

Managed competition
A health insurance system that bands together employers, labor groups and others to create insurance purchasing groups; employers and other collective purchasers would make a specified contribution toward insurance purchase for the individuals in their group; the employer's set contribution acts as an incentive for insurers and providers to compete. This term first surfaced as a result of Bill Clinton's health reform package in the early 90s.

(MSO) Management services organization
Ususally an entity owned by a hospital, physician group, PHO or IDS which provides management services and administrative systems to one or more medical practices. The management services organization provides administrative and practice management services to physicians. An MSO may typically be owned by a hospital, hospitals, or investors. Large group practices may also establish MSOs to sell management services to other physician groups. See also Medical Services Organization.

Mandated Benefits
Benefits that health plans are required by law to provide.

Mandated Providers
Providers whose services must be included in coverage offered by a health plan. These mandates can be required by state or federal law.

Manual Rates
Rates based on a health plan's average claims data and adjusted for certain factors, such as group demographics or industry.

Market Area
The targeted geographic area or areas of greatest market potential. The market area does not have to be the same as the post acute facility's catchment area.

Market Basket Index
A common term in the field of economics. In healthcare business, this refers to a ratio or index of the annual change in the prices of goods and services providers used to produce health services. Different market baskets exist for PPS based hospital inputs and capital inputs, DRG exempt facility operating inputs (such as SNF, home health agency and renal dialysis facility). Also called input price index.

Market Share
A certain percentage of the market area or targeted market population. Usually used to describe a forcasted goal or a past penetration of the market.

Master Patient / Member Index
An index or file with a unique identifier for each patient or member that serves as a key to a patient's or member's health record.

(MAAC) Maximum Allowable Actual Charge
A limitation on billed charges for Medicare services provided by nonparticipating physicians. For physicians with charges exceeding 115 percent of the prevailing charge for nonparticipating physicians, MAACs limit increases in actual charges to 1 percent a year. For physicians whose charges are less than 115 percent of the prevailing, MAACs limit actual charge increases so they may not exceed 115 percent.

Maximum Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Limit on total number of co-payments or limit on total cost of deductibles and co-insurance under a benefit plan.