| Assignment |
Medicare's approved amount for a service or item. Original Medicare will cover 80 percent of this amount (or 55 percent for most mental health services) and you (or your supplemental insurance) are responsible for the remaining coinsurance. See also, Take Assignment, Participating Provider and Non-Participating Provider. |
| Assisted Living Facility |
Also known as a “group home.” Facilities designed to assist people with activities of daily living who can otherwise take care of themselves. They are different from nursing homes, which also provide skilled care. Medicare does not cover a stay in an assisted living facility. |
| Assistive Technology |
Any item, piece of equipment, or system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. For example, Closed Circuit Television is an assistive technology that Medicare will cover if medically necessary. Simple items like “grabbers” and “reachers” are not covered by Medicare. |
| Best Practices |
Defined in a variety of ways, but typically refers to the practices of an organization that enables them to achieve superior organizational performance results. |
| Bidding |
The practice of posting all job openings internally so that current employees may be allowed the opportunity to apply for vacant positions prior to the employer seeking qualified candidates through other external recruitment measures. |
| Blended Workforce |
A workforce is comprised of permanent full-time, parttime, temporary employees and independent contractors. |
| Chattel Paper |
A category of personal property defined by Article 9 of the UCC. Chattel paper is a document that includes both a monetary obligation and a security interest in goods or a lease. For example, installment sales contracts that include a retail purchaser's promise to pay and a security interest retained by the seller become chattel paper for a bank when the seller pledges them to another party. Such a document is often called dealer paper because automobile dealers engaged in indirect lending frequently sell or pledge their retail installment contracts to a financial institution. |
| Cheapest To Deliver |
The cash market instrument that is the least expensive instrument to acquire and deliver into an exchange-traded contract at maturity. |
| Check |
A commercial demand deposit instrument signed by the maker and payable on the presentation to the bank on which it is drawn. |
| Disaggregated Data |
The presentation of data broken into segments of the student population instead of the entire enrollment. Typical segments include students who are economically disadvantaged, from racial or ethnic minority groups, have disabilities, or have limited English fluency. Disaggregated data allows parents and teachers to see how each student group is performing in a school. (Ed Source) |
| Doctoral Degree |
A doctoral degree, also called a doctorate or Ph.D., is an academic degree that represents, in most countries, the highest possible level of education. Most countries hold the doctorate degree in the highest esteem and use it to prove that the holder is qualified to work in a specific field. The most commonly known doctorate is the Ph. D. -- Doctor of Philosophy. An example of a specific profession using it as a qualifying degree would be the Doctor of Medicine (MD) in the U.S. |
| Dropout |
A grade seven through twelve student who left school prior to completing the school year and had not returned by Information Day (a day in October when students throughout the state and are counted and enrollment is determined). This does not include students who receive a General Education Development (GED) or California High School Proficiency Examination (CHSPE) certificate, transfer to another high school or to a college, move out of the United States, are suspended or sick that day, or enrolled late. (Ed Source) |
| Economic Obsolesence |
The reduction in a property’s value due to external circumstances such as legislation or changes in nearby property use. |
| Economic Rent |
Currently referred to as market rent, it is the rental income that real estate can command in an open, competitive market at any given time, as contrasted with contract rent, or the income actually received under a lease agreement. |
| Economic Sector |
Branches or divisions of a local or regional economy in which particular activities take place. |
| Fraud And Abuse |
Fraud: To purposely bill for services that were never given or to bill for a service that has a higher reimbursement than the service produced. Abuse: Payment for items or services that are billed by mistake by providers, but should not be paid for by Medicare. This is not the same as fraud. |
| Free Look (medigap Policy)* |
A period of time (usually 30 days) when you can try out a Medigap policy. During this time, if you change your mind about keeping the policy, it can be cancelled. If you cancel, you will get your money back. |
| Freedom Of Information Act |
A provision that any person has a right, enforceable in court, of access of federal agency records, except to the extent that such records, or portions thereof, are protected from disclosure by one of nine exemptions or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions. |
| Garnishment Of Wages |
Taking or seizing the amount owing pursuant to a child support order or other order, directly from the employee's wages; a proceeding whereby a debtor's money, or other property, which is under the control of another is given to a third person to whom the debtor owes a debt. |
| General Partner |
Usually one of the owners and operators of a partnership, which is a joint business entered into for profit, in which responsibility for management, profits and, most importantly, |
| Gift |
A voluntary transfer of property without consideration |
| High Balance Charge |
A fee charged by the lender when the balance exceeds the credit limit on the account. A lender may allow the borrower to exceed the credit limit without any special warning, and therefore he/she may not know it until receiving the monthly statement. Also known as high balance charge |
| High Credit |
Entry on a trade line of a credit file to indicate the highest amount charged by the consumer over the time period reviewed. |
| High-ltv Equity Loan |
A specific kind of home loan that causes your loan-to-value ratio to be 125% or more. When the total principal of a loan leaves the borrower with debt that exceeds the fair market value of the home, the interest paid on the portion of the loan above that value may not be tax deductible. |
| Intrinsic Fraud |
Deception that pertains to an issue involved in an original action. o Examples include the use of fabricated evidence, a false return of service, perjured testimony, and false receipts or other commercial documents. |
| Immediate Relatives |
One of the six legal immigrant categories, immediate relatives are immigrants who are part of the nuclear family of a U.S. citizen. They include spouses, unmarried children under 21 years of age, and parents of U.S. citizens who are over 21 years of age. Unlike other immigration categories, there is no limit on the number of immediate relatives allowed to enter the U.S. each year. |
| Immigration And Nationality Act Of 1952 (ina) |
The basic law governing the immigration and nationality policy of the United States. Rather than writing a completely new law each time it changes immigration policy, since 1952 Congress generally has enacted amendments to the INA.
However, some important laws are not codified in the INA, such as the laws providing for FAMILY UNITY status, relief under the NICARAGUAN ADJUSTMENT AND CENTRAL AMERICAN RELIEF ACT OF 1997, and ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS under the HAITIAN REFUGEE IMMIGRATION FAIRNESS ACT OF 1998. |
| Junior Mortgage |
A loan that subordinate to the primary loan. |
| Junction Box |
A rectangular metal or plastic box that provides a nexis (junction) for a home's electrical wiring system. Protects the wiring from the elements. |
| Joint Application |
an application in which the invention is presented as that of two or more persons |
| Knob-and-tube Wiring |
An old-fashioned wiring system that has been replaced by fuses and circuit breakers. |
| Kickback |
Payment made to someone for referral of a customer or business. Unlike a commission, a kickback is made without the customer's knowledge; thus, the referral could have been made without the customer's best interest at heart. |
| Kiosk |
A kiosk is a freestanding structure (open sides, usually multi sided) located in a shopping center or mall from which merchandise is sold. A multi-sided structure found in a shopping mall or center. |
| Letter Of Credit |
An instrument issued by a bank, at the request of the applicant, promising to pay the beneficiary upon his presentation of stipulated documents in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit. |
| Letter Of Credit - "confirmed" |
“CONFIRMED”: A letter of credit issued by one bank to which another bank added its irrevocable confirmation to pay, thereby obligating itself in the same manner as the opening bank. |
| Letter Of Credit Right |
A right to payment or performance under a letter of credit whether or not the beneficiary has demanded or is at the time entitled to demand payment or performance. The term does not include the right of a beneficiary to demand payment or performance under a letter of credit. A category of personal property collateral defined by the 2000 revisions to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. |
| Move-in Condition |
A house that is ready for a new occupant. |
| Must Buy Buyers |
Buyers looking for properties that meet specific needs. |
| Must Sell Sellers |
A highly motivated or desperate seller. |
| National Health Insurance |
Federal health insurance program designed to provide comprehensive benefits to the majority of the population. |
| National Institute On Aging (nia) |
Federal agency within the National Institutes of Health that conducts and supports biomedical and behavioral research to increase knowledge of the aging process and associated factors resulting from old age. NIA conducts laboratory and clinical research at it Gerontology Research Center in Baltimore, MD and its clinics. NIA funds research on aging at universities, hospitals, and other organizations. |
| National Institutes Of Health |
A division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is responsible for most of the agency's medical research programs. |
| Oculomotor Muscles |
The muscles that move the eye. |
| Open Head Injury |
An open head brain injury, also know as a penetrating head injury, is an occurrence where a foreign object breaks through the skull and punctures the brain. |
| Open Reduction Internal Fixation (orif) |
A surgical procedure to treat a bone fracture. Involves the use of plates and/or screws to stabilize the bone and facilitate healing. |
| Prepay |
Repaying debt faster than required by the lender. A borrower prepays when paying more than the monthly minimum payment. Some lenders may charge a penalty fee for prepaying. Also see prepayment penalty. |
| Prepayment Penalty |
A penalty imposed on a borrower for repaying the loan before its due date. (In the case of a mortgage, this applies when there is not a prepayment clause in the mortgage note to offset the penalty.) |
| Preponderance Of Evidence |
evidence that is at least a bit more persuasive than the contrary evidence |
| Quotas |
For affirmative action purposes, an absolute requirement that an employer hire a certain number of or percentage of employees from a specified group, without regard to the availability of qualified candidates or the presence of more qualified members of other groups. |
| Quality Assurance/quality Control |
A system of procedures, checks, audits, and corrective actions to ensure that all technical, operational, monitoring, and reporting activities are of the highest achievable quality. |
| Quality Control (qc) |
The overall system of technical activities that measures the attributes and performance of a process, item, or service against defined standards to verify that they meet the stated requirements established by the customer; operational techniques and activities that are used to fulfill requirements for quality. The system of activities and checks used to ensure that measurement systems are maintained within prescribed limits, providing protection against "out of control" conditions and ensuring the results are of acceptable quality. |
| Retroactive Disenrollment |
A way to discontinue enrollment in a Medicare private health plan (Part C) or Medicare private drug plan (Part D) that you mistakenly joined or joined due to marketing fraud, effective back to the date you joined. You will be disenrolled from your Medicare private health or drug plan as if you had never joined it. |
| Rural Health Clinic |
A Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that provides health care services in rural areas where there is a shortage of health care services |
| Redlining |
Marketing practices whereby certain lenders refuse to make loans in certain neighborhoods based on their racial and/or ethnic make-up. |
| Source Reduction |
The design, manufacture, purchase, or use of materials (such as products and packaging) to reduce the amount or toxicity of garbage generated. Source reduction can help reduce waste disposal and handling charges because the costs of recycling, municipal composting, landfilling, and combustion are avoided. Source reduction conserves resources and reduces pollution. |
| Sparge |
Injection of air below the water table to strip dissolved volatile organic compounds and/or oxygenate the groundwater to facilitate aerobic biodegradation of organic compounds. |
| Species |
A reproductively isolated aggregate of interbreeding organisms. |
| Term Fed Funds |
Federal funds transactions made for tenors longer than one day. Typical term fed funds transactions range from a few days to a few months. |
| Term Insurance |
A form of life insurance that has no built-in savings feature and does not accumulate any cash surrender value. |
| Term Loan |
A loan for a specific amount of money. It has either have a fixed or variable interest rate, matures in between one and ten years and has a set repayment schedule. |
| Urgent Care |
Services received for an unexpected illness or injury that is not life threatening but requires immediate outpatient medical care that cannot be postponed. An urgent situation requires prompt medical attention to avoid complications and unnecessary suffering or severe pain, such as a high fever. |
| Unit Input Intensity Allowance |
The amount added to, or subtracted from, the hospital input price index to yield the PPS update factor. |
| Ub-82 |
A uniform institutional claim form developed by the NUBC that was in general use from 1983 - 1993. |
| Value-added Network |
A vendor of EDI data communications and translation services. |
| Virtual Private Network |
A technical strategy for creating secure connections, or tunnels, over the Internet. |
| Voluntary Agreement |
Agreements between CMS and various insurers and employers to exchange Medicare information and group health plan eligibility information for the purpose of coordinating health benefit payments. |
| Working Capital |
Current assets minus current liabilities. Working capital is the amount of cash a company expects to generate in the short term and have available to retire current liabilities. |
| Working Capital Conversion Cycle |
An accounting and financial phrase used to describe the dynamics of short-term cash flows that occur during the normal operations of a business. The working capital conversion cycle is the circular process of borrowing money first to purchase inventory, then to carry that inventory and finally to carry the resulting accounts receivable that are the proceeds of the inventory. When the receivables are paid, the firm can then use the proceeds to either repay the borrowing or to start the cycle all over again by purchasing new inventory. |
| Wraparound |
A financing device that permits an existing loan to be refinanced and new money to be advanced at an interest rate between the rate charged on the old loan and the current market interest rate. The creditor combines or “wraps” the remainder of the old loan with the new loan at the intermediate rate. |
| X12n/tg1 |
The Property & Casualty Task Group (TG1) of the Insurance Subcommittee (N) of X12. |
| X12n/tg2 |
The Health Care Task Group (TG2) of the Insurance Subcommittee (N) of X12. |
| X12n/tg2/wg1 |
The Health Care Eligibility Work Group (WG1) of the Health Care Task Group (TG2) of the Insurance Subcommittee (N) of X12. This group maintains the X12 270 Health Care Eligibility & Benefit Inquiry and the X12 271 Health Care Eligibility & Benefit Response transactions, and is also responsible for maintaining the IHCEBI and IHCEBR transactions. |
| Yankee Cds |
Certificates of deposit denominated in U.S. dollars and issued in the United States by a U.S. branch of a foreign financial institution. |
| Yield |
The ratio of income over a specified period of time to the total cost over that time. Yield is a measure of the return on an investor's capital investment. |
| Yield Curve Model |
Another term for term structure model. |
| Zero-based Bonus |
A plan design feature that establishes a preassigned class, ratio, or ranking for a specified class of employees who will receive zero bonus awards. |
| Zero Coupon Bonds |
A single-payment bond that grows to its face value over a prescribed time period at a specific interest rate. All compound interest is tax-deferred until the bond is cashed. |
| Zero-lot Lines |
Houses built without space between them and with little or no yard. |
