1. Nontraditional medical care given by providers such as acupuncturists. 2. Medical care received instead of inpatient hospitalization (e.g., outpatient surgery, home health care, skilled nursing facility care).
Insurance Encyclopedia
Alternative care facility (ACF)
Assisted living facility for elderly who do not need nursing care. ACFs have private and semiprivate rooms for residents and are usually near shopping and entertainment resources.
Alternative delivery system (ADS)
Phrase that indicates any other health care system other than the traditional fee-for-service or indemnity insurance.
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
Method or procedure used to settle insurance claims other than through a lawsuit. See also arbitration.
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UK: A generic term meaning all methods of dispute resolution other than the court. ADR embraces: arbitration, adjudication, conciliation, early neutral evaluation, expert determination, executive tribunal (or mini-trial) or mediation. ADR is actively encouraged as a part of the pre-action protocols in the Civil Procedure Rules.
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Methods other than lawsuits that are designed to resolve legal disputes. Examples are arbitration and mediation.
Alternative dispute resolution (Health Insurance)
Alternatives to the fee for service model, for example PPOs or HMOs. See entries PPO and HMO.
Alternative financing system (AFS)
Another system for financing medical services that is different from a fee-for-service method (e.g., capitation).
Alternative funding mechanism
Method designed to provide the account with a more favorable cash flow (e.g., self-funding and deferred premiums).
Alternative markets
Mechanisms used to fund self-insurance, including captives, which are insurers owned by one or more non-insurers to provide owners with coverage. Risk-retention groups, formed by members of similar professions or businesses to obtain liability insurance, are also a form of self-insurance.
Alternative medicine
Nontraditional medical care given by providers such as acupuncture, aroma therapy, chiropractic, diet, exercise, faith healing, homeopathy, Indian Ayurvedic medicine, massage, meditation, mind/body therapies, nutritional and herbal medicine, stress management, and therapeutic touch. A number of health insurance companies and managed care organizations have begun to provide insurance coverage for a few of these alternative therapies. Alternative billing codes (ABCs) are used to bill for these services. Also see integrative health care and alternative billing codes (ABCs). Website: www.alternativelink.com
Alternative Probability
Probability of any one of two or more events. If A and B are two events, the alternative probability of either one of them is expressed as “p(A or B).”Probability, Conditional Probability : Probability of one event given that another event has already occurred. If A and B are two events, then the probability of A, given that B has occurred, is expressed as “p(A or B).”Probability, Joint Probability : Probability that two (or more) events will both (or all) occur. If A and B are two events, the joint probability of both is expressed as “p(A or B).”Probability Distribution : A listing of all the possible outcomes that might occur and the probability of each possible outcome. The sum of these probabilities must equal 1.