Many Americans believe that people who lack health insurance somehow get the care they really need. Care Without Coverage examines the real consequences for adults who lack health insurance. The study presents findings in the areas of prevention and screening, cancer, chronic illness, hospital-based care, and general health status. The committee looked at the consequences of being uninsured for people suffering from cancer, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, heart and kidney disease, mental illness, traumatic injuries, and heart attacks. It focused on the roughly 30 million-one in seven-working-age Americans without health insurance. This group does not include the population over 65 that is covered by Medicare or the nearly 10 million children who are uninsured in this country. The main findings of the report are that working-age Americans without health insurance are more likely to receive too little medical care and receive it too late; be sicker and die sooner; and receive poorer care when they are in the hospital, even for acute situations like a motor vehicle crash.

Roughly 40 million Americans have no health insurance, private or public, and the number has grown steadily over the past 25 years. Who are these children, women, and men, and why do they lack coverage for essential health care services? How does the system of insurance coverage in the U.S. operate, and where does it fail? The first of six Institute of Medicine reports that will examine in detail the consequences of having a large uninsured population, Coverage Matters: Insurance and Health Care, explores the myths and realities of who is uninsured, identifies social, economic, and policy factors that contribute to the situation, and describes the likelihood faced by members of various population groups of being uninsured. It serves as a guide to a broad range of issues related to the lack of insurance coverage in America and provides background data of use to policy makers and health services researchers.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was designed to increase health insurance quality and affordability, lower the uninsured rate by expanding insurance coverage, and reduce the costs of healthcare overall. Along with sweeping change came sweeping criticisms and issues. This book explores the pros and cons of the Affordable Care Act, and explains who benefits from the ACA. Readers will learn how the economy is affected by the ACA, and the impact of the ACA rollout.

Health Insurance Today: A Practical Approach simplifies health insurance concepts through abundant real-world examples, case studies and application exercises. Practice-based instruction, supported by the direct, conversational writing style, makes the often-complicated insurance billing and coding process understandable and accessible. Each chapter develops the learning objective in a manageable, direct narrative, followed by a short application exercise to ensure student comprehension. Key terms are highlighted and defined in the margins to facilitate immediate understanding and build familiarity with industry terms. Compliance tips located throughout teach correct billing and coding practices to comply with federal and state mandates. Case studies, critical thinking exercises and collaborative learning activities provide ample opportunities for practice, self-assessment and confidence building. Features the new CMS-1500 (8-05 version) throughout, to prepare students for real-world practice. Each chapter has been carefully developed to stand on its own, making the text ideal for open entry programs.

With an emphasis on preparing and filing claims electronically, Health Insurance Today, 4th Edition features completely updated content on ICD-10 coding, ARRA, HI-TECH, Version 5010, electronic health records, the Health Insurance Reform Act, and more. The friendly writing style and clear learning objectives help you understand and retain important information, with review questions and activities that encourage critical thinking and practical application of key concepts. Clear, attainable learning objectives help you focus on the most important information. What Did You Learn? review questions allow you to ensure you understand the material already presented before moving on to the next section. Direct, conversational writing style makes reading fun and concepts easier to understand. Imagine This! scenarios help you understand how information in the book applies to real-life situations. Stop and Think exercises challenge you to use your critical thinking skills to solve a problem or answer a question. HIPAA Tips emphasize the importance of privacy and following government rules and regulations. Chapter summaries relate to learning objectives, provide a thorough review of key content, and allow you to quickly find information for further review. Key coverage of new topics includes medical identity theft and prevention, National Quality Forum (NQF) patient safety measures, ACSX12 Version 5010 HIPAA transaction standards, EMS rule on mandatory electronic claims submission, and standards and implementation specifications for electronic health record technology. Increased emphasis on producing and submitting claims electronically gives you an edge in today’s competitive job market. UPDATED! Additional ICD-10 coding content prepares you for the upcoming switch to the new coding system. NEW! Content on ARRA, HI-TECH, and the Health Insurance Reform Act ensures you are familiar with the latest health care legislation and how it impacts what you do on the job.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two programs that provide benefits based on disability: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. This report analyzes health care utilizations as they relate to impairment severity and SSA's definition of disability. Health Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination identifies types of utilizations that might be good proxies for "listing-level" severity; that is, what represents an impairment, or combination of impairments, that are severe enough to prevent a person from doing any gainful activity, regardless of age, education, or work experience.

Corresponding to the chapters in Health Insurance Today, 4th Edition, this workbook lets you practice the skills you will need to succeed as a health insurance professional. Practical assignments reinforce the information in the text, and learning activities and exercises challenge you to apply your knowledge to real-world situations. Case studies ask you to solve a real-world problem related to health insurance, such as completing a CMS-1500 claim form or explaining how HIPAA could affect someone recently out of work. Critical Thinking activities strengthen your ability to apply health insurance concepts to a variety of challenging situations. Performance objectives include hands-on, application-based learning activities in areas such as completing claim forms, posting payments to a patient's ledger, filling out Release to Return to Work forms, and filling out Medicare appeals. Chapter assessments test your knowledge of text content with multiple choice, true/false, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, and matching questions. Application exercises ask you to apply your knowledge and skills to real-world situations. Defining Chapter Terms help you review and understand key terms in each chapter. Problem solving/collaborative (group) activities emphasize the importance of teamwork in the health care field. In-class projects and discussion topics enhance your understanding of specific content from the text. Internet Exploration exercises in each chapter help you learn how to perform research online. NEW! Key coverage of new topics includes medical identity theft and prevention, National Quality Forum (NQF) patient safety measures, ACSX12 Version 5010 HIPAA transaction standards, EMS rule on mandatory electronic claims submission, and standards and implementation specifications for electronic health record technology. UPDATED! Additional ICD-10 coding content prepares you for the upcoming switch to the new coding system. UPDATED! Medicare chapter reflects updates and changes from the new presidential administration.