Chapter 1-Medical Insurance

pharmacy technician insurance specialist

job title that describes the vital job of getting paid for prescriptions, whether the setting is a large pharmacy practice where individuals specialize in various task or a small practice where the same individual may handle this role as well as others, s

medical insurance

individual who enters into an agreement with a health plan to receive medical insurance

health plan & insurance payers

organization that offers financial protection in case of illness or accidental injury

policyholder

Individual who enters into an agreement with a health plan to receive medical insurance

premium

fee paid monthly to a health plan by a person who buys medical insurance

benefits

payments made by a health plan for medical services

providers

hospital, physician, and other medical staff members and facilities that offer medical services

deductible

amount paid by a policyholder each year before benefits from a health plan will start

medically necessary

insurance term referring to appropriate medical treatment given under generally accepted standards of medical practice

pharmacy benefit

feature of a policy that provides coverage for selection of prescription medications

Prescription drug list (PDL) & formulary & preferred drug list

list containing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) -approved brand-name and generic medications a plan covers

noncovered (excluded) services

services that a medical insurance policy does not pay for

maximum benefit limit

monetary amount after which a plan's benefits end

coinsurance

percentage of the fees owed by the policyholder

managed care

method of supervising medical care with the goal of ensuring that patients get needed services in the most appropriate, cost- effective setting

managed care organization (MCO)

plan that establishes links among provider, patient, and payer by combining the delivery of services with the financing and management of health care

copayment

small fixed fee paid by a patient for a drug

point of sale (POS)

drug plan benefits received at the time the pharmacy technician insurance specialist processes a person's prescriptions

billing cycle

ten-step work flow followed at a pharmacy to care for patient's financial matters

electronic prescribing (eRx)

use of software by a physician to transmit an order

pharmacy management (PM) system

system that stores, processes, transmits, and receives billing data

pharmacy claim

information transmitted to a payer that identifies the policyholder, the prescriber the pharmacy sending the claim, and the medications being supplied

EDI (electronic data interchange)

claims that are sent electronically between the pharmacy management system and the payer

adjudication

payer's processing of claim data to decide whether a drug is covered by the patient's plan and properly utilized

accounts receivable (AR)

remaining balance due after an initial payment had been made

remittance advice (RA) &explanation of benefits

Document that comes to a pharmacy showing the details for a claim

Medically Necessary

1. They match the patient's illness
2. They are not elective. They are required to treat a condition, rather than being elected to be done by the patient.
3. They are not experimental. The procedures or medications must be approved by the appropriate fede

Indemnity plans

cover the medical costs policyholders incur when they receive treatment for accidents and illnesses.

Government Programs

Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, CHAMPVA, Workers' compensation

Medicare

a federal health plan that covers most citizens aged sixty-five and over, people with disabilities, people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and dependent windows.

Medicaid

Low income people who cannot medical care are covered by Medicaid, which is cosponsored by the federal and state governments.

TRICARE

TRICARE covers expenses for dependents of active-duty members of the uniformed services and for retired military personnel.

CHAMPVA

The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veteran Affairs is a program for veterans with permanent service related disabilities and their dependents.

Worker's compensation

People with job-related illnesses or injuries are covered under workers' compensation insurance through their employers.

The Pharmacy Practice Billing Cycle

1. Receipt of Prescription
2. Patient Interview
3. Filling of Prescription
4. Pharmacy Claim Transmittal
5. Payer Adjudication
6. Point-of-Scale Patient Payment
7. Calculation of Payer Claim Balance
8. Accounts Receivable Follow-Up
9. Payment Processing
1

Receipt of Prescription

The patient or caregiver personally phones in the prescription or presidents it at a face-to-face meeting.
The physician or physician representative phones in the prescription.
The physician or physician representative fax in the prescription.
In a small

Patient Interview

the patient or the caregiver is interviewed to determine whether the pateint is a returning or a new customer of the pharmacy and is covered by a prescription drug plan.

Filling of Prescription

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