LA Healthcare Abbreviation Cheat Sheet
In our world there are abbreviations everywhere! They’re meant to save time, but they
don’t really do that unless you know what they mean. Don’t think that you have to memorize
these, or that all of them will be important to you! It’s just here if you need it, when you hear
something you don’t understand.
People, Programs and Places
ADAP
AIDS Drug Assistance Program, a federal program providing assistance with medication
costs for low-income people living with HIV. In Louisiana, this program has been
replaced by L-DAP, which provides similar services for uninsured individuals as well as
expanding to cover medication costs for insured individuals.
CMS
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the part of the federal government that is
responsible for setting up and regulating the health insurance Marketplace
DHH
Department of Health and Hospitals, Louisiana’s state agency responsible for administering
health-related programs
DHH (Department
of Health and
Hospitals)
OPH (Office of
Public Health)
•SHP (STD/HIV
Program)
HAART inc.
HIV/AIDS Alliance for Region Two, a community-based organization in Baton Rouge which contracts with the Office of
Public Health to run HIP, the Health Insurance Program
HIP
Health Insurance Program, a part of LA HAP which assists low-income individuals with the costs of their health insurance
including premiums, deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurances. You can apply for HIP by completing a LAHAP application.
HRSA
Health Resources and Services Administration, the part of the federal government that is responsible for providing
money to and regulating each state’s ADAP program (Louisiana’s ADAP program is called L-DAP)
LA HAP
Louisiana Health Access Program, a program run by the STD/HIV Program at the Louisiana Office of Public Health to
provide health care cost assistance to people living with HIV (better known as the Ryan White Program). The program
consists of two parts: L-DAP, for assistance with insured and uninsured medication costs, and HIP, for assistance with
insured medical care costs.
L-DAP
Louisiana Drug Assistance Program, which in 2013 replaced ADAP in Louisiana. This program, run by the state Office of
Public Health’s STD/HIV Program, assists both insured and uninsured individuals with their medication costs. You can
apply for L-DAP by completing a LAHAP application.
OPH
Office of Public Health, a part of the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals. OPH contains the STD/HIV Program
which, among other programs, runs Louisiana’s ADAP program known as LA HAP.
LA HAP
(Louisiana Health
Access Program)
L-DAP (Louisiana
Drug Assistance
Program)
HIP (Health
Insurance
Program)
SHP
STD/HIV Program, a part of Louisiana’s Office of Public Health within
the Department of Health and Hospitals. This program provides
funding to certain agencies for HIV-related services and runs
Louisiana’s ADAP program known as LA HAP.
Health Insurance Coverage
ACA
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a law which changed the way health insurance works in America (often
known as Obamacare).
EHB
Essential Health Benefits. There are 10 categories of EHBs which almost every private insurance plan has to include,
such as prescription drugs, lab services, maternity services, and hospitalization.
EOB
Explanation of Benefits, a document sent by an insurance company to the client after the client has accessed medical
services. The EOB explains what services were given, how much the provider charged the insurance company, and how
much the insurance company paid of that amount.
OEP
Open Enrollment Period, a period of time in which people may shop for and purchase health insurance. For both
Marketplace and off-Marketplace plans, the current OEP began on November 15th 2014 and will end on February 15th
2015.
QHP
Qualified Health Plan, a health insurance plan that fits certain requirements for benefits and cost-sharing standards. All
plans sold on the Marketplace are QHPs.
QLE
Qualifying Life Event, something that might happen in someone’s life to make them eligible for a Special Enrollment
Period where they can buy health insurance outside the Open Enrollment Period. Some examples are having a baby,
getting married, moving to a new state, etc.
SEP
Special Enrollment Period, a period of time in which certain people may purchase health insurance outside of the usual
Open Enrollment Period. This may include people with a Qualifying Life Event such as having a baby, becoming
ineligible for Medicaid, etc.
SOB
This could refer to Schedule of Benefits, Statement of Benefits, or Summary of Benefits. This document is put out by
an insurance company to explain what services they cover/don’t cover, what cost-shares will be, and other specific
details about the plan. Each plan offered by the company will have its own SOB.
(TR)OOP
(True) Out-of-Pocket Maximum, the maximum amount of money that you will have to pay for your healthcare over the
course of a year. After you have paid this amount through your deductibles, co-pays, or coinsurance, your health
insurance plan pays 100% of your costs until the end of the year.