Cadillac Tax

The popular name for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored health coverage, which is a 40 percent tax on plans with values exceeding $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for families. It is scheduled to take...

Cafeteria Plan

Provides participants an opportunity to receive certain benefits, such as reimbursement for some out-of-pocket medical expenses, on a pretax basis. It is a separate written plan maintained by an employer for employees that meets the requirements of Section 125 of the...

CAHPS

The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems is a national, standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring patients’ perspectives of hospital care, thus enabling valid comparisons to be made across all hospitals....

capitation

A fixed payment to provide health care services to an individual for a set period of time, regardless of the actual number or nature of services provided.

carrier

An entity that may underwrite or administer a range of health benefit programs. May refer to an insurer or a managed health plan.