Includes bibliographical references and index.

The origins of health insurance -- Tools of the trade : a career as a health (medical) insurance professional -- The legal and ethical side of medical insurance -- Types and sources of health insurance -- The universal claim form : CMS-1500 -- Traditional fee-for-service/private plans -- Unraveling the mysteries of managed care -- Understanding Medicaid -- Conquering Medicare's challenges -- Military carriers -- Miscellaneous carriers : workers' compensation and disability insurance -- Diagnostic coding -- Procedural, evaluation and management, and HCPCS coding -- The patient -- The claim -- The role of computers in health insurance -- Reimbursement procedures : getting paid -- Hospital billing and the UB-04.