Chapter 2 Flashcards

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Health care reform legislation that President Obama signed into law in 2010, with the goal of expanding health insurance coverage to more Americans. Also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

A public health insurance program, jointly funded by the federal and state governments, that provides health insurance coverage for children whose families meet income eligibility standards.

contact tracing

Identifying and contacting those exposed to people with positive tests.

criminalization of mental illness

Refers to the high number of mentally ill people being held in America's correctional facilities.

food deserts

Areas where residents lack access to grocery stores that sell fresh fruits and vegetables, and instead rely on convenience stores and fast-food chains that sell mostly high-calorie processed food.

globesity

The high prevalence of obesity around the world.

health

According to the World Health Organization, "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being."

health disparities

Preventable differences in exposure to disease or injury or in opportunities to achieve optimal health across social groups.

herd immunity

The point at which enough people in a population have been exposed to or immunized from an infectious agent to stop its spread.

Indian Health Service

A federal agency that provides health services to members of 566 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and their descendants.

infant mortality rate

The number of deaths among children in the first year of life per 1,000 live births in a calendar year.

life expectancy

The average number of years that individuals born in a given year can expect to live.

managed care

Any medical insurance plan that controls costs through monitoring and controlling the decisions of health care providers.

maternal mortality

Deaths that result from complications associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and unsafe abortion.

Medicaid

A public health insurance program, jointly funded by the federal and state governments, that provides health insurance coverage for the poor who meet eligibility requirements.

medicalization

Defining or labeling behaviors and conditions as medical problems.

medical debt

Debt that results when people cannot afford to pay their medical bills.

medical tourism

A global industry that involves traveling, primarily across international borders, for the purpose of obtaining medical care.

Medicare

A federally funded program that provides health insurance benefits to the elderly, disabled, and those with advanced kidney disease.

mental health

Psychological, emotional, and social well-being.

mental illness

Refers collectively to all mental disorders, which are characterized by sustained patterns of abnormal thinking, mood (emotion), or behaviors that are accompanied by significant distress and/or impairment in daily functioning.

Military Health System (MHS)

The federal entity that provides medical care in military hospitals and clinics, and in combat zones and at bases overseas and on ships, and that provides health insurance known as Tricare to active duty service members, military retirees, their eligible family members, and their survivors.

mortality

Death.

parity

In health care, a concept requiring equality between mental health care insurance coverage and other health care coverage.

pandemic

A worldwide disease outbreak.

preexisting conditions

Illnesses or injuries that occurred before a person begins coverage under a new health insurance plan.

single-payer health care

A health care system in which a single tax-financed public insurance program replaces private insurance companies.

social stratification

Systems of social inequality by which a society divides people into groups with unequal access to wealth, material and social resources, and power.

socioeconomic status (social class)

A person's position in society based on the level of educational attainment, occupation, and income of that person or that person's household.

stigma

A discrediting label that affects an individual's self-concept and disqualifies that person from full social acceptance.

under-5 mortality rate

The number of deaths of children under age 5 per 1,000 live births.

universal health care system

A system of health care, typically financed by the government, that ensures health care coverage for all citizens.

Veterans Health Administration (VHA)

A system of hospitals, clinics, counseling centers, and long-term care facilities that provides care to military veterans.