Glossary

A health problem caused by the lack (or too much) of needed nutrients.

A special x-ray of the breasts. Medicare covers the cost of a mammogram once a year for women over 40.

Includes Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO), Competitive Medical Plans (CMP), and other plans that provide health services on a prepayment basis, which is based either on cost or risk, depending on the type of contract they have with Medicare. See also "Medicare+Choice".

Managed Care Organizations are entities that serve Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries on a risk basis through a network of employed or affiliated providers.
Stands for Managed Care Organization. The term generally includes HMOs, PPOs, and Point of Service plans. In the Medicaid world, other organizations may set up managed care programs to respond to Medicaid managed care. These organizations include Federally Qualified Health Centers, integrated delivery systems, and public health clinics.
Is a health maintenance organization, an eligible organization with a contract under §1876 or a Medicare-Choice organization, a provider-sponsored organization, or any other private or public organization, which meets the requirements of §1902 (w) to provide comprehensive services.

See Suspension of Payments Includes Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO), Competitive Medical Plans (CMP), and other plans that provide health services on a prepayment basis, which is based either on cost or risk, depending on the type of contract they have with Medicare. See also "Medicare+Choice."

In most managed care plans, you can only go to doctors, specialists, or hospitals on the plan’s list except in an emergency. Plans must cover all Medicare Part A and Part B health care. Some managed care plans cover extra benefits, like extra days in the hospital. In most cases, a type of Medicare Advantage Plan that is available in some areas of the country. Your costs may be lower than in the Original Medicare Plan.

A managed care plan that lets you use doctors and hospitals outside the plan for an additional cost. (See Medicare Managed Care Plan.)

Integrates the financing and delivery of appropriate health care services to covered individuals by means of: arrangements with selected providers to furnish a comprehensive set of health care services to members, explicit criteria for the selection of health care provides, and significant financial incentives for members to use providers and procedures associated with the plan. Managed care plans typically are labeled as HMOs (staff, group, IPA, and mixed models), PPOs, or Point of Service plans. Managed care services are reimbursed via a variety of methods including capitation, fee for service, and a combination of the two.

Outlays for entitlement programs (Medicare and Medicaid) that are not subject to the Federal appropriations process.

Services not covered by Medicare that enrollees must purchase as a condition of enrollment in a plan. Usually, those services are paid for by premiums and/or cost sharing. Mandatory supplemental benefits can be different for each Medicare Advantage plan. Medicare Advantage Plans must ensure that any particular group of Medicare beneficiaries does not use mandatory supplemental benefits to discourage enrollment.