Chapter 16 - Health and Aging

• third-party payments


  A system in which the costs of an individual's health care are paid for by some form of public or private insurance or charitable organization
• HMO


  A medical organization run by an insurance company, with doctors paid a salary and costs tightly controlled
• medicalization


  The process by which problems become defined and treated as medical problems, usually in terms of illness or disorder
• medicaid


  The U.S. government program to pay for medical costs of the poor
• experience ratings


  A process used by health companies to distribute insurance coverage across different groups based on their likelihood of illness
• Parsons


  American sociologist who developed the concept of the sick role
• managed care


  A system by which insurance companies set maximum fees they will pay to doctors
• sick role


  A shared set of cultural norms that legitimates deviant behavior caused by illness and channels the individual into the health care system
• CDC


  A part of the U.S. Public Health Service, this agency is charged with monitoring communicable ailments
• WHO


  An international organization that monitors health issues
• medicare


  The U.S. government program to pay for medical costs of the elderly
• Affordable Care Act


  Passed in 2010, it stresses cost-effective health care coverage for all
• BMI


  A scale used to measure whether an individual is overweight or obese