Glossary of Terms
Annual household income: This is the amount you and everyone who lives in your home earn each year from all income sources. Charitable foundations may have different guidelines about what counts as income for their programs.
Coinsurance: A percentage of costs that you pay for covered health care services usually after you’ve paid your deductible.
Copay: A fixed dollar amount that you pay for a covered health care service usually after you’ve paid your deductible.
Deductible: The amount you pay for covered health care services before your insurance plan will pay for those services.
Drug formulary: A list of drugs covered by your plan’s prescription benefits. The formulary will tell you if you will have to pay a percentage of the cost (coinsurance) or a fixed dollar amount (copay).
Federal Poverty Limit (FPL):
This is the measure of annual household income (see above) issued every year by the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS). Federal poverty levels may be used to determine your eligibility for certain programs and benefits.
| 2024 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | |
| Persons in family/household | Poverty Guideline |
| 1 | $15,060 |
| 2 | $20,440 |
| 3 | $25,820 |
| 4 | $31,200 |
| 5 | $36,580 |
| 6 | $41,960 |
| 7 | $47,340 |
| 8 | $52,720 |
| For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $5,380 for each additional person. | |
Foundation: A non-profit charitable organization intended provide monetary donations to other organizations or individuals.
Fund: The patient assistance program(s) of a charitable foundation.
Government-issued ID: This can be driver’s license, US passport, social security card or a green card.
Government payer: Federal or state health insurance programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, or Tricare. Charitable foundations may have different guidelines about government payers.
Grant amount: Amount of financial assistance available for a particular Fund.
Household: Generally, your household is you, your spouse or partner, your children who live with you, anyone who you claim as a dependent on your taxes. Charitable foundations may have different guidelines about who counts as a member of your household.
Max Income: The maximum annual household income allowed for eligibility for a fund.
Medicaid: Federal-state insurance program that serves low-income patients. Medicaid guidelines vary from state to state. Patients pay little or no part of costs for covered medical expenses.
Medicare: Federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and patients with end-stage renal disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant, sometimes called end stage renal disease (ESRD).
Out-of-pocket maximum: The maximum amount that you have to pay for covered services during your insurance plan’s coverage year.
Premiums: The amount you pay each month to have health insurance coverage.
Proof of income: The amount you and everyone in your household earn each year, using you taxes if you file them, or an estimate of the cash earned per year, or a W2, or a 1099MISC. Charitable foundations may have different guidelines about what types of documents they require for proof of income.
Proof of residency: This is what you may need to show as proof that you live in the Unites States. Examples are a rental agreement, a lease, a housing voucher, and utility bills like electricity and water. Charitable foundations may have different guidelines about what can be used to show proof of residency.
Tricare: TRICARE is the health care program for uniformed service members, retirees, and their families around the world.