GLOSSARY OF HEALTH INSURANCE TERMS

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Waiting Periods — the length of time an individual must wait to become eligible for benefits for a specific condition after overall coverage has begun. Also refers to the period that must pass before an employee or dependent is eligible to enroll (becomes covered) under the terms of the group health plan. If the employee or dependent enrolls as a late enrollee or on a special enrollment date, any period before the late or special enrollment is not a waiting period. If a plan has a waiting period and a pre-existing condition exclusion, the pre-existing condition exclusion period begins when the waiting period begins. Days in a waiting period are not counted toward creditable coverage unless there is other creditable coverage during that time.

Waiver — approval that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS, formerly called HCFA), the federal agency that administers the Medicaid program, may grant to state Medicaid programs to exempt them from specific aspects of Title XIX, the federal Medicaid law.

Wellness — a dynamic state of physical, mental and social well-being; a way of life that equips the individual to realize the full potential of their capabilities and to overcome and compensate for weaknesses; and a lifestyle that recognizes the importance of nutrition, physical fitness, stress reduction and self-responsibility. Wellness has been viewed as the result of four key factors over which an individual has varying degrees of control: human biology, environment, health care organization and lifestyle.

Workers' Compensation — insurance that employers are required to have to cover employees who get sick or injured on the job. A state-mandated program providing insurance coverage for work-related injuries and disabilities.