In certain situations, a health plan can use the results of utilization review to intervene, if necessary, to alter the course of a plan member's medical care. Such intervention can be based on the results of
In order to cover some of the gap between FFS Medicare coverage and the actual cost of services, beneficiaries often rely on Medicare supplements. Which of the following statements about Medicare supplements is correct?
In order to compensate for lost revenue resulting from services provided free or at a significantly reduced cost to other patients, many healthcare providers spread these unreimbursed costs to paying patients or third-party payors. This practice is known
From the following answer choices, choose the description of the ethical principle that best corresponds to the term Beneficence
An HMO that combines characteristics of two or more HMO models is sometimes referred to as a
From the following answer choices, choose the description of the ethical principle that best corresponds to the term Beneficence
Before the Hill Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) received a certificate of authority (COA) to operate in State X, it had to meet the state's licensing requirements and financial standards which were established by legislation that is identical to the
Following a report by the Institute of Medicine on the incidence and consequences of medical errors, a national task force recommended implementation of a nationwide mandatory system of collecting, analyzing, and reporting standardized information about m
Health plans can organize under a not-for-profit form or a for-profit form. One true statement regarding not-for-profit health plans is that these organizations typically
After a somewhat modest start in 2004, enrollment in HSA-related health plans more than tripled in 2005, making them today’s fastest growing type of CDHP. As of January 2006, enrollment in HSAs had reached nearly:
By definition, a health plan's network refers to the
As part of its utilization management (UM) system, the Creole Health Plan uses a process known as case management. The following individuals are members of the Creole Health Plan:
Before the Hill Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) received a certificate of authority (COA) to operate in State X, it had to meet the state's licensing requirements and financial standards which were established by legislation that is identical to the
In order to help review its institutional utilization rates, the Sahalee Medical Group, a health plan, uses the standard formula to calculate hospital bed days per 1,000 plan members for the month to date (MTD). On April 20, Sahalee used the following inf
In response to the demand for a method of assessing outcomes, accrediting organizations and other government and commercial groups have developed quantitative measures of quality that consumers, purchasers, regulators, and others can use to compare health
Before the Leo Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) received a certificate of authority (COA) to operate in State X, it had to meet the state's licensing requirements and financial standards which were established by legislation that is identical to the
In health plan terminology, demand management, as used by health plans, can best be described as
HMOs typically employ several techniques to manage provider utilization and member utilization of medical services. One technique that an HMO uses to manage member utilization is
If a state commissioner of insurance places an HMO under administrative supervision, then the purpose of this action most likely is to:
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is a nonprofit organization that accredits health plans and other healthcare organizations. Under the current NCQA accreditation program, a health plan's accreditation score is determined, in part, by pe
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC's) Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act specifies standards for the investigation and handling of claims. The Act defines unfair claims practices and notes that such practices are improper if the
Diabetic patients with high glucose levels requiring stabilization following treatment of an acute attack would best be served in an ___________
The following statements are about the various Health Plan Accountability Models adopted by the NAIC.
When the Knoll Company purchased group health coverage from the Castle Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), the agreement between the two parties specified that the plan would be a typical fully funded plan. Because Knoll had been covered under a previous
The following statements are about the non-group market for managed care products in the United States. Select the answer choice containing the correct statement.
Medigap policies were standardized into ten standard benefit pl ranging from A-J by the ____
Which of the following is NOT a reason for conducting utilization reviews?
Common characteristics of POS products are
The measures used to evaluate healthcare quality are generally divided into three categories: process, structure, and outcomes. An example of a process measure that can be used to evaluate a health plan's performance is the:
To determine fee reimbursements to be paid to physicians, the Triangle Health Plan assigns a weighted value to each medical procedure or service and multiplies the weighted value by a money multiplier. Triangle and the providers negotiate the value of the
Abbreviation for JCAHO is
The Houston Company, a United States company, offers its eligible employees health insurance coverage through a group health plan. Houston hired the Dallas Company to handle the plan's claim administration and membership services, but Houston is financial
The Gable MCO sometimes experience-rates small groups by underwriting a number of small groups as if they constituted one large group and then evaluating the experience of the entire large group. This practice, which allows small groups to take advantage
Combined system of preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic measures that focuses on management of specific chronic illness or medical conditions are:
Which of the following statements is true?
Which of the following statements about Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is WRONG?
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) developed the Small Group Model Act to enable small groups to obtain accessible, yet affordable, group health benefits. The model law limits the rate spread, which is the difference between the highest and lowest rates that a health plan charges small groups, to a particular ratio.
According to the Model Act, for example, if the lowest rate an HMO charges a small group for a given set of medical benefits is $40, then the maximum rate the HMO can charge for the same set of benefits is
Ancillary services are
One characteristic of the accreditation process for MCOs is that
The Cleopatra Group, a third-party administrator (TPA), has entered into a TPA agreement with the Alexander MCO with regard to the administration of a particular health plan. This agreement complies with all of the provisions of the NAIC TPA Model Law. On
One factor the Sandpiper Health Plan uses to assess its quality is a clinician's bedside manner, i.e., how friendly and understanding the clinician is, whether the patient feels that the clinician listens to the patient's concerns, how well the clinical
Janet Riva is covered by a indemnity health insurance plan that specifies a $250 deductible and includes a 20% coinsurance provision. When Ms. Riva was hospitalized, she incurred $2,500 in medical expenses that were covered by her health plan. She incurred
Some providers use electronic medical records (EMRs) to document their patients' care in an electronic form. The following statement(s) can correctly be made about EMRs:
Some states mandate that an independent enrollment broker or benefits counselor contractor selected by the state must manage enrollment of the eligible Medicaid population into managed care. In other states a health plan can engage independent brokers and
Pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies typically interact with physicians and pharmacists by performing such clinical services as physician profiling. Physician profiling from a PBM's point of view involves
Medicare is the federal government program established under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act of 1965 to provide hospital, medical and other covered benefits to elderly and disabled persons. Medicare is available for:
One way in which a health plan can support an ethical environment is by
Managed behavioral health organizations (MBHOs) use several strategies to manage the delivery of behavioral healthcare services. The following statements are about these strategies.
Select the answer choice that contains the correct statement.
The Acme HMO recruits and contracts directly with a wide range of physicians—both PCPs and specialists—in its geographic area on a non-exclusive basis. There is no separate legal entity that represents and negotiates the contracts for the physicians. The
The existing committees at the Majestic Health Plan, a health plan that is subject to the requirements of HIPAA, include the Executive Committee and the Corporate Compliance Committee. The Executive Committee serves as a long-term advisory body on issues
Natalie Chan is a member of the Ultra Health Plan. Whenever she needs non-emergency medical care, she sees Dr. David Craig, an internist. Ms. Chan cannot self-refer to a specialist, so she saw Dr. Craig when she experienced headaches. Dr. Craig referred h
Parable Healthcare Providers, a health plan, recently segmented the market for a new healthcare service. Parable began the process by dividing the healthcare market into two broad categories: non-group and group. Next, Parable further segmented the non-gr
Ronald Canton is a member of the Omega MCO. He receives his nonemergency medical care from Dr. Kristen High, an internist. When Mr. Canton needed to visit a cardiologist about his irregular heartbeat, he first had to obtain a referral from Dr. High to see
The following paragraph contains an incomplete statement. Select the answer choice containing the term that correctly completes the statement. In early efforts to manage healthcare costs, traditional indemnity health insurers included in their health pla
The following paragraph contains an incomplete statement. Select the answer choice containing the term that correctly completes the statement. Advances in computer technology have revolutionized the processing of medical and drug claims. Claims processing i