Insurance Basics: Home

Palliative Care and Shared Decision Making

Palliative care is medical care that tries to relieve discomfort and stress for people with serious illnesses. It focuses on improving quality of life for patients and their families. Palliative care doesn’t try to cure the illness.

Palliative Care and Shared Decision Making
Shared Decision Making and Preference-Sensitive Conditions

To get the best care, it helps if you and your doctor make decisions together. The process is called "shared decision making." This article suggests ways to talk to your doctor about three common health problems where there may be no clear, "right" option. They are uterine fibroids, type 2 diabetes and low-risk prostate cancer. These are examples of preference-sensitive conditions.

Shared Decision Making and Preference-Sensitive Conditions
Flexible Spending Plans

Flexible spending plans let you set aside money from your paycheck. You can use it to pay for care before meeting your deductible, and for copays and coinsurance afterward.

Receiving Care from an Accountable Care Organization

An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is a group of doctors or hospitals who have agreed to work together to coordinate and improve their patients´ care

Experimental Treatments and Clinical Trials

Most health plans don´t cover treatments they regard as “experimental”. Sometimes, they may deny a claim for such a treatment.

Managing Costs for Day Programs for the Elderly and Disabled Younger Adults

An adult day program is a type of long-term care program you go to during the day. Program costs vary, but most aren’t covered by health insurance.