By Emily Beaver

When it comes to the health care reform debate, the lingo keeps changing. One day, everyone's talking about the public option and the next day it's health care co-operatives.With so many different ideas and plans about how to change health care in Congress right now, it's hard to keep up with up with all of the health care terms in the headlines.

Here are ten more health reforms terms you need to know to follow the debate:

 

1. Baucus Bill

Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, has sponsored a health care reform bill that is moving through the Senate. If Congress passes the bill into law, it will determine how the health care system is reformed. Senator Baucus' bill does not include a public option, or a government-run health insurance plan. Some of the bill's other features include requiring all Americans to have health insurance and offering a "young invincibles" health insurance plan for Americans under age 25.

2. Single-payer health care system

Under a single-payer health care system, the government is the only party that pays for health care costs. The United States currently has a multiple-payer health care system, which means many sources, including several private insurance companies and the government pay for Americans' health care. Advocates of single-payer systems say the system lowers health care costs by cutting down on administrative costs and can help provide health insurance for more people. Although some critics of American health insurance say the country should adopt a single-payer system, most politicians aren't considering a single-payer system as part of health care reform.

3. Health care cooperative

Health care cooperatives or "co-ops" have been touted as an alternative to the public option, or a government-run health insurance plan. In health care cooperatives, groups of doctors provide health care services to patients who don't use health insurance to pay for medical care. Co-ops are non-profit organizations owned by patients who pay premiums to belong to the co-op and may vote on a board of directors. The Baucus Bill calls for the government to provide money to help create health care co-ops.

4. Age-rating

Private health insurers often charge older people higher premiums than younger people, a practice called age-rating. Insurers say that older adults should be charged more than younger adults because on average, they have more health problems and spend more on health care. The Baucus bill would limit how much more insurers can charge people for health insurance based on age. Under the bill, insurers could only charge an older person four times as much as a younger person, known as a 4:1 ratio. Some politicians are pushing for a 2:1 ratio.

5. Guaranteed issue

Many plans for health reform will require private health insurance companies to sell insurance to everyone who wants it, a standard called guaranteed issue. Right now, health insurers may refuse to sell insurance to people who have pre-existing medical conditions, like asthma or diabetes. Some critics think guaranteed issue will cause people to wait until they're sick to buy health insurance.

6. Dependents

President Obama has said that health reform should help young people who don't have insurance by allowing them to remain as dependents on their parents' health insurance plans until age 26. Many states have already increased the age of dependency so young people can stay insured under their parents' health insurance plans into their 20s.

7. Health care subsidies

Many health care reform plans being debated in Congress will require all Americans to have health insurance, an idea known as an "individual mandate." However, if the government forces everyone to have health insurance, it will have to help people who can't afford insurance pay for it. Most health care reform plans will help people who can't afford health care by providing subsidies, or tax credits that cover part of the cost of health care. Some are worried that health care subsidies proposed by the government won't be enough to make health care affordable to all Americans.

8. Bending the curve

The cost of providing health care in America has risen so quickly in recent years that when the cost is plotted on a line chart, it curves upward. When politicians and policy makers talk about "bending the curve," they mean slowing down the growth of health care costs. Bending the curve is an important goal behind health care reform.

9. Out-of-pocket costs

Health care fees paid for by patients are referred to as "out-of-pocket costs." An example of an out-of-pocket cost is a co-payment, which is a flat fee that a patient pays each time they use a medical service, such as a doctor's visit or emergency room visit. President Obama has said that health care reform should limit out-of-pocket costs for consumers.

10. Comparative effectiveness

Comparative effectiveness research is used to determine which medical treatments are the most effective and compare how much those treatments costs. Comparative effectiveness studies could be an important part of the health care reform because they could help doctors determine which treatments are the most effective and provide the best price. Health care reform bills would pay for comparative effectiveness studies in an attempt to lower the costs of providing medical treatments.

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