When it comes to health insurance, voluntary benefits, and all other manner of employee perks, the jargon can be a little bit overwhelming for some. Then throw in all those acronyms, and it can become a complete nightmare for anyone who doesn’t deal with these issues on a daily basis.

So, to help you decipher some of the letters you may encounter as you’re perusing your benefits summaries or health plan proposals, here’s a list of the most common acronyms in the world of employee benefits, A to Z.

-A-

• ACA – Affordable Care Act
• ACO – Accountable Care Organization
• ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act
• AD&D – Accidental Death and Dismemberment
• ADB – Accidental Death Benefit
• ADEA – Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• ADL – Activities of Daily Living
• ADR – Alternative Dispute Resolution
• APL – Automatic Premium Loan
• APS – Attending Physician’s Statement
• Archer MSA – Archer Medical Savings Account
• ART – Annually Renewable Term (also known as YRT – Yearly Renewable Term for life insurance)
• ASO – Administrative Services Only

-C-

• CDHC – Consumer Driven Health Care
• CDHP – Consumer Driven Health Plan
• CFR – Code of Federal Regulations
• CHAMPUS – Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (now TRICARE)
• CHIP – Children’s Health Insurance Program
• CLU – Chartered Life Underwriter
• CMS – Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services (formerly HCFA)
• CMS-1500 – Claim form used by medical professionals
• COB – Coordination of Benefits
• COC – Certificate of Coverage
• COLA – Cost-of-living Adjustments
• COBRA – Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
• CPT – Current Procedural Terminology

-D-

• DB – Defined Benefits
• DC – Defined Contributions
• DCAP – Dependent Care Assistance Program
• DCTC – Dependent Care Tax Credit
• DFVC Program – Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program
• DME – Durable Medical Equipment
• DO – Doctor of Osteopath
• DOB – Date of Birth
• DOS – Date of Service
• DOL –Department of Labor
• DOMA – Defense of Marriage Act
• DRGs – Diagnostic Related Groups
• DX – Diagnosis Code

-E-

• EAP – Employee Assistance Program
• EBSA – Employee Benefits Security Administration (formerly PWBA)
• EDI – Electronic Data Interchange
• EEO – Equal Employment Opportunity
• EEOC – Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• EFAST – ERISA Filing Acceptance System
• EFT – Electronic Funds Transfer
• EGTRRA – Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act
• EIC – Earned Income Tax Credit
• EOB – Explanation of Benefits
• EOI – Evidence of Insurability
• EOMB – Explanation of Medical Benefits
• EPO – Exclusive Provider Organization
• ERD – Equal Rights Division
• ERISA – Employee Retirement Income Security Act
• ERRP –Early Retirement Reinsurance Program
• ESRD – End Stage Renal Disease

-F-

• FCRA – Fair Credit Reporting Act
• FEHBP – Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
• FICA – Federal Insurance Contributions Act
• FLSA – Fair Labor Standards Act
• FMLA – Family Medical Leave Act
• FSA – Flexible Spending Arrangement (or Account)
• FUTA – Federal Unemployment Tax Act

-G-

• GINA – Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
• GTL – Group-term life insurance

 

-H-

• HCE – Highly Compensated Employee
• HCFA – Health Care Financing Administration (now CMS)
• HCR – Health Care Reform
• HCTC – Health Coverage Tax Credit
• HDHC – High Deductible Health Coverage
• HDHP – High Deductible Health Plan
• Health FSA – Health Flexible Spending Arrangement (or Account)
• HHS – Department of Health and Human Services
• HIAA – Health Insurance Association of America
• HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
• HMO – Health Maintenance Organization
• HRA – Health Reimbursement Arrangement (or Account)
• HSA – Health Savings Account

-I-

• IDEA – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997
• ICD-10 – International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition
• IME – Independent Medical Exam
• IPA – Independent Practice Association
• IPS – Investment Policy Statement
• IRA – Individual Retirement Account
• IRC – Internal Revenue Code
• IRO – Independent Review Organization
• IRS – Internal Revenue Service

-J-

• JCAHO – Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
• JGTRRA – Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act

-L-

• LCSW – Licensed Clinical Social Worker
• LHSO – Limited Health Service Organization
• LTC – Long-term Care
• LTD Plan – Long-term Disability Plan

-M-

• MCO – Managed Care Organization
• MSN – Medicare Summary Notice
• Medigap – Medicare supplemental insurance
• Med Supp – Medicare supplemental insurance
• MET – Multiple Employer Trust
• MEWA – Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement
• MHPA – Mental Health Parity Act
• MIB – Medical Information Bureau
• MIS – Management Information Systems
• MSA – Medical Savings Account

• MSP – Medicare Second Payer

-N-

• NAIC – National Association of Insurance Commissioners
• NAMCR – National Association of Managed Care Regulators
• NCQA – National Committee for Quality Assurance
• NICB – National Insurance Crime Bureau
• NHCE (or Non-HCE) – Non-highly Compensated Employee
• NMHPA – Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act
• Non-par – Non-participating provider

-O-

• OBRA – Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
• OCHI – Office of Consumer Health Insurance
• OCR – Office for Civil Rights
• OHCA – Organized Health Care Arrangement
• OMB – Office of Management and Budget
• OOP – Out-of-pocket limit
• OPM – Office of Personnel Management (for federal employee benefits)
• OTC Drug – Over-the-counter Drug

-P-

• Par – Participating Provider
• PCE – Pre-existing Condition Exclusion
• PCP – Primary Care Physician
• PDA – Pregnancy Discrimination Act
• PEO – Professional Employer Organization
• PFFS – Private Fee For Service (alternative form of Medicare)
• PHI – Protected Health Information
• PHSA – Public Health Service Act
• POA – Power of Attorney
• PHO – Physician Hospital Organization
• PMPM – Per Member Per Month
• POP – Premium-only Plan
• POS – Point-of-service
• PPA – Preferred Provider Arrangement
• PPACA – Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
• PPO – Preferred Provider Organization
• PWBA – Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (now EBSA)

-Q-

• QDRO – Qualified Domestic Relations Order
• QHP – Qualified Health Plan
• QMB – Qualified Medical Beneficiary
• QMCSO – Qualified Medical Child Support Order

-R-

• RBC – Risk Based Capital
• ROC – Review Oversight Committee
• RTW – Return to Work (date for disability coverage)

-S-

• SAR – Summary Annual Report
• SBC – Summary of Benefits and Coverage
• SBJPA – Small Business Job Protection Act
• SEP – Simplified Employee Pension
• SHIP – Senior Health Insurance Program
• SHOP Exchange –Small Business Health Options Program
• SLOB – Separate Line of Business
• SMM – Summary of Material Modifications
• SNF – Skilled Nursing Facility
• SPD – Summary Plan Description
• SPDA – Single-premium Deferred Annuity
• SPIA – Single-premium Immediate Annuity
• SSA – Social Security Administration
• SSDI – Social Security Disability Insurance

-T-

• TPA – Third-party Administrator
• TPPP – Third Party Prescription Program
• TRICARE – Triple option benefit plan for military families (formerly CHAMPUS)

-U-

• UB04 – Billing form used by hospitals
• U&C (R&C or UCR) – Usual Customary, Reasonable and Customary, Usual Customary and Reasonable
• UR – Utilization Review
• URAC – Utilization Review Accreditation Commission
• USC – United States Code
• USERRA – Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act

-V-

• VEBA – Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association
• VFC – Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program
• VHSP – Voluntary Health Service Plan

–W-

• WHCRA – Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act
• WP – Waiver of Premium For Disability Benefit
• WPHCP – Women’s Principle Health Care Provider

-Y-

• YTD – Year-to-date
• YRT – Yearly Renewable Term Insurance (also known as ART – Annually Renewable Term Insurance)