GLOSSARY OF HEALTH INSURANCE TERMS

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Legend Drug — a drug that the law says can only be obtained by prescription.

Lifetime Limit — a cap on the benefits paid under a policy. For example, many policies have a lifetime limit of $1 million, which means that the insurer agrees to cover up to $1 million in covered services over the life of the policy.

Lifetime Reserve Days —in the original Medicare plan, a total of 60 extra days that Medicare will pay for when an enrollee is in a hospital more than 90 days during a benefit period. Once these 60 reserve days are used, the citizen does not get any more extra days during their lifetime. For each lifetime reserve day, Medicare pays all covered costs except for a daily coinsurance.

Lock-in — a contractual provision by which members are required to use certain health care providers in order to receive coverage (except in cases of urgent or emergent need).

Long-term Care Insurance — insurance designed to pay for some or all of the costs of long-term care.

LPN — a licensed practical nurse.