Brain Series Glossary

Medical Health Insurance Terms

C

Coinsurance:

A type of insurance in which the insured pays a share of the payment made against a claim.

Copayment:

A form of medical cost sharing in a health insurance plan that requires an insured person to pay a fixed dollar amount when a medical service is received.

D

Deductible:

A specified amount of money that the insured must pay before an insurance company will pay a claim.

F

Flexible spending accounts or arrangements (FSA):

Accounts offered and administered by employers that provide a way for employees to set aside, out of their paycheck, pretax dollars to pay for the employee’s share of insurance premiums or medical expenses not covered by the employer’s health plan.

Fully insured plan:

A plan where the employer contracts with another organization to assume financial responsibility for the enrollees’ medical claims and for all incurred administrative costs.

M

Maximum out-of-pocket expense:

The maximum dollar amount a group member is required to pay out of pocket during a year.

P

Preferred provider organization (PPO) plan:

An indemnity plan where coverage is provided to participants through a network of selected health care providers (such as hospitals and physicians).

Premium:

Agreed upon fees paid for coverage of medical benefits for a defined benefit period.

Primary care physician (PCP):

A physician who serves as a group member's primary contact within the health plan.

S

Self-Funded:

Health care also known as Administrative Services Only (ASO) is a self-insurance arrangement whereby an employer provides health or disability benefits to employees with its own funds.

Single Sign-On:

​This is a session/user authentication process that permits a user to enter one name and password in order to access multiple applications.

T

Third party administrator (TPA):

An individual or firm hired by an employer to handle claims processing, pay providers, and manage other functions related to the operation of health insurance.

 

Living Well Terms

C

Condition Management:

For UT SELECT members diagnosed with a chronic condition, this program provides guidance in managing your care and treatment.

E

EAP:

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides confidential professional counseling for all UT SELECT members, free of charge.

F

Flex Exercise Program:

Individuals with medical conditions that can be improved by physical activity can receive reimbursement from their healthcare flexible spending account to pay for some exercise programs and equipment.

N

24/7 Nurseline:

Experienced registered nurses are ready to help with your health questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: Call 1-888-315-9473.

P

Physical Activity Challenge:

Annual System-wide physical activity challenge and competition between institutions held in Spring each year.

Preventive Care:

Covered 100% by UT SELECT Medical Plan. See the Living Well Website for details.

S

Special Beginnings Program:

Nurse support and education program regarding prenatal and newborn care. Enroll by calling 1-800-421-7781

T

Therapeutic Resource Center:

If you have been diagnosed with a chronic condition, pharmacist specialists can assist you with vital information about your condition and treatment plan. For more information, call 1-800-818-0155.

Tobacco Cessation Program:

UT SELECT members have access to Free Smoking/Tobacco Cessation Programs, Pharmaceutical Therapy and Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT).

UT Retirement Terms

A

Annuity:

A contract usually issued by an insurance company that pro­vides income for a specified period of time or for life.

Asset Allocation:

The process of dividing investments among different kinds of assets, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash, to optimize the risk/reward tradeoff based on an individual's specific situation and goals.

B

Bonds:

A debt instrument issued for a period of more than one year with the purpose of raising capital by borrowing.

C

Contribution Limits:

The maximum amount of money you can contribute to a retirement program. Generally set by the IRS, but can be defined further by your employer.

D

Diversification:

The process of allocating investments over a variety of asset classes with the aim of "spreading the risk" and offsetting potential market volatility.

Dividend:

A payment declared by a company's board of directors and given to its shareholders out of the company's current or retained earnings, usually quarterly.

E

Expense Ratio:

The amount that investors pay for management of a mutual fund or variable annuity. The amount is expressed as a percentage of the fund or account's average net assets.

F

Fixed Annuity:

Insurance contract guaranteeing the annuitant a speci­fied monthly amount, even if the insured outlives his or her life expectancy.

Fixed Income:

An asset class that includes bonds - securities that are designed to pay a rate of interest over a set time period and then return the investor's principal.

G

Gross Expense Ratio:

The gross measure of what it costs an investment company to operate a mutual fund.

Guaranteed Fund:

An investment offering that protects an individual's principal investment and provides a guaranteed minimum interest rate.

I

Investment (Inv.) Category:

A method to identify a fund's investment goals based on actual investment styles as measured by their underlying portfolio holdings.

L

Life Annuity:

Monthly payments for the life of the annuitant, regard­less of how long he or she lives.

Lifecycle Fund:

A professionally managed mutual fund that provides automatic asset allocation based on a target retirement date.

M

Money Market:

Short-term debt securities, such as Treasury Bills with a maturity of one year or less and often 30 days or less.

Mutual Fund:

A type of investment in which the money of many investors is pooled together to buy a portfolio of different securities.

N

Net Expense Ratio:

The net expense ratio reflects the gross expense ratio of a fund minus any possible rebates that the fund may offer.

No-Load Mutual Funds:

Mutual fund whose shares are purchased directly from the fund without a sales charge.

P

Portfolio:

A collection of investments all owned by the same individual or organization.

Prospectus:

The legal document offering securities or mutual fund shares for sale, required by theSecurities Act of 1933.

Provider:

One of the six companies authorized by the University of Texas System to receive and invest your contributions.

R

Redemption Fee:

A charge paid when an individual sells an investment, such as a mutual fund or an annuity.

Rollover:

A method of moving money in a retirement account from one tax-deferred account to another. Commonly used when an employee changes jobs and wishes to move their retirement accounts to their new employer while maintaining tax-deferred status.

S

Surrender or Withdrawal Charge:

Sales charges at the time of disbursement. Rates are usually calculated on a declining scale based on the duration of investment.

T

Ticker Symbol:

A symbol used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a corporation on a particular stock market.

Total Return:

The return on an investment, including income from dividends and interest, as well as appreciation or depreciation in the price of the security, over a given time period.

V

Variable Annuity:

A contract that provides future payments, usually at retirement.

Volatility:

The relative rate at which the price of a security moves up and down. If the price of a stock moves up and down rapidly over short time periods, it has high volatility. If the price almost never changes, it has low volatility.

Y

YTD (Year-to-Date):

On the Fund Performance Summary, the fund returns from January to the current month of the current calendar year.