Insurance Terms - H
hazardous materials (HAZMAT) - (hazardous materials or the safety programs instituted to protect the public from exposure to hazardous materials - a precise definition varies depending on the regulatory agency involved, but normally includes nuclear or chemical waste, explosive chemicals or substances, and biological waste)
hazardous ranking system (HRS) - (the principle screening tool used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate risks to public health and the environment associated with abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites)
Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (HCQIA) -
Health and Human Services, United States Department of (HHS) - (agency which administers the OASDHI, Medicare, and public assistance programs)
Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) - (federal law enacted under Title XIII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, which increased privacy safeguards for patient information, and assigned enforcement to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS))
health insurance (HI) -
Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) - (organization that seeks to educate the public on the benefits of private health insurance coverage)
Health Insurance Institute (HII) -
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) - (federal legislation passed in 1996 requiring employers with 2 to 50 employees to provide health insurance as a guaranteed renewable contract - was designed to make health insurance portable - new employers could not refuse to offer health coverage so long as the the new employee had 12 months of coverage at the old employer)
Health Insurance Quality Award (HIQA) - (an award granted annually by the International Association of Health Underwriters or the National Association of Life Underwriters for high persistency of health insurance policies written by agents - high persistency is the staying quality of a policy meaning that a high percentage stay in force to the end of the period coverage instead of lapsing for nonpayment of premiums)
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) - (an organization that offers, provides, or arranges for coverage of designated health services needed by plan members under a prepaid per capita or prepaid aggregate fixed-sum basis - prepaid group health insurance plan that entitles members to services of participating physicians, hospitals, and clinics)
Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 (HMO) - (federal legislation requiring employers with traditional health plans to also provide an HMO alternative to their employees - provision requiring an HMO alternative was repealed in 1993)
Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) - (benefit plan set up by employers which reimburses employees for medical expenses they incur)
Health Savings Account (HSA) - (arrangement that allows individuals to contribute an annual amount to an account for future medical expenses, take a tax deduction in the contribution year, and in future years, allows payments for medical expenses to be made from the account tax-free)
health service agreement (HSA) - (the agreement between an employer and the health plan that outlines a description of benefits, enrollment procedures, eligibility standards, and notification requirements)
health system agency (HSA) -
healthcare safety professional (HSP) -
heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) - (area of building construction and maintenance which deals with issues relating to design, installation, and repair of heating, cooling, and air-flow units)
heavy timber construction (HT) -
highly protected risk (HPR) - (property that is judged to be subject to a much lower than normal probability of loss by virtue of low hazard occupancy or property type, superior construction, special fire protection equipment, such as a sprinkler system, and procedures, and commitment to loss prevention)
Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) - (a nonprofit research organization that publishes insurance loss statistics on most automobile, SUV, pickup truck, and motorcycle models on U.S. highways)
Home Office Life Underwriters Association (HOLUA) - (organization of home office underwriters of life insurance companies which offers educational material and national examinations)
homeowners insurance (HO) - (term for insurance policies available to home owners in different versions)
hospital insurance (HI) - (name for services identified as Part A of Medicare - HI provides inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing care, home health care, and hospice care, subject to a benefit period deductible and copayments for certain services)
hospital professional liability insurance (HPL) - (insurance purchased by hospitals covering their liability for professional acts, errors, or omissions - HPL forms cover hospital employees but not independent contractor staff physicians who have been granted admitting privileges)
House Bill (HB) - (congressional legislation originating in the U.S. House of Representatives)
household goods (HHG) -
Housing and Urban Development, Department of (HUD) - (cabinet-level federal agency, founded in 1965, which is responsible for housing development in the United States through subsidies for low- and moderate-income housing and urban renewal projects, often through loan guarantees)
HR-10 (Keogh Act Plan) - (a plan under the Self-Employed Individual's Tax Retirement Act that permits a self-employed individual to establish a formal retirement plan and to obtain tax advantages similar to those available in qualified pension plans)
Huebner Foundation for Insurance Education (HFIE) -
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - (the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), an infectious and incurable disease of the immune system)
human life value (HLV) -
human resources (HR) - (department within an organization which deals with employment needs and employee relations - planning and advising on an organization's job requirements, conducting job searches, and screening job applicants, and ensuring compliance with legal requirements relating to employees)