The following statements illustrate the use of different rating methods by health plans:
From the following answer choices, select the response that correctly indicates the rating methods used by Dover and Rolling Hills.
The following statements are about the financial risks for health plans in Medicare and Medicaid markets. Three of these statements are true, and one statement is false. Select the answer choice containing the FALSE statement.
Under the doctrine of corporate negligence, a health plan and its physician administrators may be held directly liable to patients or providers for failing to investigate adequately the competence of healthcare providers whom it employs or with whom it contracts, particularly where the health plan actually provides healthcare services or restricts the patient's/enrollee's choice of physician.
If the Ascot health plan's accountants follow the going-concern concept under GAAP, then these accountants most likely
The reimbursement arrangement that Dr. Caroline Monroe has with the Exmoor Health Plan includes a typical withhold arrangement. One true statement about this withhold arrangement is that, for a given financial period,
Under the alternative funding method used by the Trilogy Company, the insurer charges Trilogy an initial premium that is based on the assumption that claims will be 93% of the expected claims for the year. If claims exceed 93% of expected claims, then Trilogy must reimburse the insurer for any additional claims paid, up to 112% of expected claims. The insurer bears the responsibility for paying claims in excess of 112% of expected claims.
From the following answer choices, choose the name of the alternative funding method described.
Several federal agencies establish rules and requirements that affect health plans. One of these agencies is the Department of Labor (DOL), which is primarily responsible for _________.
In order to determine a health plan's quick liquidity ratio, a financial analyst would divide the health plan's
With regard to the Medicaid program in the United States, it can correctly be stated that
The core of a health plan's strategic financial plan is the development of its pro forma financial statements. The following statements are about these pro forma financial statements. Select the answer choice containing the correct statement.
The amount of risk for health plan products is dependent on the degree of influence and the relationships that the health plan maintains with its providers. Consider the following types of managed care structures:
Of these health plan products, the one that would most likely expose a health plan to the highest risk is the:
Geena Falk is eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid coverage. If Ms. Falk incurs a covered expense, then:
The Puma health plan uses return on investment (ROI) and residual income (RI) to measure the performance of its investment centers. Two of these investment centers are identified as X and Y. Investment Center X earns $10,000,000 in operating income on controllable investments of $50,000,000, and it has total revenues of $60,000,000. Investment Center Y earns $2,000,000 in operating income on controllable investments of $8,000,000, and it has total revenues of $10,000,000. Both centers have a minimum required rate of return of 15%.
The following statements are about Puma's evaluation of these investment centers. Select the answer choice containing the correct statement.
The Northwest Company offers its employees the option of choosing to receive their healthcare benefits from an HMO or from a traditional indemnity plan. The premiums for the HMO are lower than for the traditional indemnity plan. In this situation, it is correct to assume that:
1. Individual low utilizers are more likely to enroll in the traditional indemnity plan
2. Individual high utilizers are more likely to enroll in the HMO
The Puma health plan uses return on investment (ROI) and residual income (RI) to measure the performance of its investment centers. Two of these investment centers are identified as X and Y. Investment Center X earns $10,000,000 in operating income on controllable investments of $50,000,000, and it has total revenues of $60,000,000. Investment Center Y earns $2,000,000 in operating income on controllable investments of $8,000,000, and it has total revenues of $10,000,000. Both centers have a minimum required rate of return of 15%.
One likely way in which Investment Center X or Y could effectively increase its ROI is by
A health plan may experience negative working capital whenever healthcare expenses generated by plan members exceed the premium income the health plan receives.
Ways in which a health plan can manage the volatility in claims payments, and therefore reduce the risk of negative working capital, include:
1. Accurately estimating incurred but not reported (IBNR) claims
2. Using capitation contracts for provider reimbursement
In a fee-for-service (FFS) reimbursement method, providers are paid per treatment or per service that they provide. One typical benefit of FFS reimbursement is that it:
A health plan can use segment margins to evaluate the profitability of its profit centers. One characteristic of a segment margin is that this margin
The Rathbone Company has contracted with the Jarvin Insurance Company to provide healthcare benefits to its employees. Under this contract, Rathbone assumes financial responsibility for paying 80% of its estimated annual claims and for depositing the funds necessary to pay these claims into a bank account. Although Rathbone owns the bank account, Jarvin, acting as Rathbone’s agent, makes the actual claims payments from this account. Claims in excess of Rathbone’s contracted percentage are paid by Jarvin. Rathbone pays to Jarvin a premium for administering the entire plan and bearing the costs of claims in excess of Rathbone’s obligation. This premium is substantially lower than would be charged if Jarvin were providing healthcare coverage under a traditional fully insured group plan. Jarvin is required to pay premium taxes only on the premiums it receives from Rathbone. This information indicates that the type of alternative funding method used by Rathbone is known as a:
The Newfeld Hospital has contracted with the Azalea Health Plan to provide inpatient services to Azalea's enrolled members. The contract calls for Azalea to provide specific stop-loss coverage to Newfeld once Newfeld's treatment costs reach $20,000 per case and for Newfeld to pay 20% of the next $50,000 of expenses for this case. After Newfeld's treatment costs on a case reach $70,000, Azalea reimburses the hospital for all subsequent treatment costs.
The maximum amount for which Newfeld is at risk for any one Azalea plan member's treatment costs is
The Eagle health plan wants to limit the possibility that it will be held vicariously liable for the negligent acts of providers. Dr. Michael Chan is a member of an independent practice association (IPA) that has contracted with Eagle. One step that Eagle could take in order to limit its exposure under the theory of vicarious liability is to
As part of the first step in its strategic planning process, the Trout health plan developed the following statements:
Statement A can best be described as a
The purest form of a self-funded benefit plan is one in which the employer pays benefits from current revenue, administers all aspects of the plan, and bears the risk that actual benefit payments will exceed the expected amount of payments. A decision to use this kind of self-funding is generally considered most desirable when certain conditions are present. These conditions most likely include that the benefit plan
Health plans seeking to provide comprehensive healthcare plans must contract with a variety of providers for ancillary services. One characteristic of ancillary services is that
The theory of vicarious liability or ostensible agency can expose a health plan to the risk that it could be held liable for the acts of independent contractors. Factors that may give rise to the assumption that an agency relationship exists between a health plan and its independent contractors include:
The Norton Health Plan used blended rating to develop a premium rate for the Roswell Company, a large employer group. Norton assigned Roswell a credibility factor of 0.7 (or 70%). Norton calculated Roswell’s manual rate to be $200 and its experience claims cost as $180. Norton’s retention charge is $3. This information indicates that Roswell’s blended rate is: