Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

In the Federal budget, an appropriation provided by the Congress one or more years in advance of the fiscal year in which the budget authority becomes available for obligation. Advance appropriations allow State and local governments, and others sufficient time to develop plans with assurance of future Federal funding: e.g., the 1976 appropriation for the…

The physician responsible for admission of a patient to a hospital or other inpatient health facility. The physician may remain responsible for the care of the patient once admitted, or not (the house-staff usually becoming responsible). Some facilities have all admitting decisions made by a single physician (typically a rotating responsibility) called an admitting physician.…

Assets of an insurance company recognized by a State regulatory body or other examining body in determining the company’s financial condition.  

A form of medical care review in which an assessment is made of the medical necessity of a patients admission to a hospital or other inpatient institution. Admission certification seeks to assure that patients requiring a hospital level of care, and only such patients, and admitted to the hospital without unnecessary delay and with proper…

The formal acceptance by a hospital or other inpatient health are facility of a patient who is to be provided with room, board, and continuous nursing service in an area of the hospital or facility where patients generally stay at least overnight. The act of being registered as a hospital patient. In education, the formal…

in the Veterans Administration health care program, a nonservice-connected disability associated with or held to be aggravating a service-connected disability.  

The type of investigations, including clinical investigations, that must be conducted by a new drug sponsor to demonstrate that a new drug is effective. As amended in 1962, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires that drug sponsors provide substantial evidence of effectiveness and gives this term a special definition: ”evidence consisting of adequate…

In insurance, a person trained in statistics, accounting, and mathematics who determines policy rates, reserres, and dividends by deciding what assumptions should be made with respect lo each of the risk factors involved (such as the frequency of occurrence of the peril, the average benefit that will be payable, the rate of investment earnings, if any,…

The amount a physician or other practitioner actually bills a patient for a particular medical service or procedure. The actual actual charge may differ from the customary, prevailing, and or reasonable charges under Medicare and other insurance programs.  

The immediate cost of selling, underwriting, and issuing a new insurance policy, including clerical costs, agents’ commissions, advertising, and medical inspection fees. Also refers to the cost paid by a pharmacist or other retailer to a manufacturer or wholesaler for a supply of drugs.