Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 50 > Chapter 4 - Health Care Policy

• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Commissioner: means the Montana state auditor and ex officio commissioner of insurance provided for in 2-15-1903. See Montana Code 50-4-701
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conscience: means the ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles held by a medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer. See Montana Code 50-4-1101
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Control or governance: means the possession, indirect or direct, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person or entity, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement services, or otherwise unless the power is solely the result of an official position with a corporate office held by the person. See Montana Code 50-4-701
• conversion transaction: means the sale, transfer, lease, exchange, transfer by exercise of an option, optioning, conveyance, merger, affiliation, mutualization, joint venture, or other disposition by a nonprofit health entity or another person or entity resulting in the transfer of control or governance to a person or entity other than the nonprofit health entity of the lesser of:

  (i)more than 10% in fair market value of the assets or operations of a nonprofit health entity; or

  (ii)assets of a nonprofit health entity amounting to a fair market value of $5 million or more. See Montana Code 50-4-701

• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Customary: means according to usage. See Montana Code 1-1-206
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means the department of public health and human services provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 22. See Montana Code 50-4-803
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Discrimination: means an adverse action taken against, or a threat of adverse action communicated to, a medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer as a result of the medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer's refusal to participate in a health care service on the basis of conscience, including but not limited to termination of employment, transfer from current position, demotion from current position, adverse administrative action, reassignment to a different shift or job title, increased administrative duties, denial of staff privileges, denial of board certification, loss of career specialty, reduction of wages, benefits, or privileges, refusal to award a grant, contract, or other program, refusal to provide residency training opportunities, denial, deprivation, or disqualification of licensure, withholding or disqualifying from financial aid and other assistance, impediment of the creation or improvement of a health care institution or health care payer, impediment of the acquisition or merger of a health care institution or health care payer, the threat of any of the preceding actions, or any other penalty, disciplinary, or retaliatory action, whether executed or threatened. See Montana Code 50-4-1101
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fair market value: means the fair market value as of the date of the transaction or proposed transaction as determined by an independent appraisal of the assets or operations performed and communicated by a qualified appraiser according to applicable professional appraisal standards. See Montana Code 50-4-701
• Federally qualified health center look-alike: means a facility that meets all of the expectations established for the federally funded community health center program but does not receive federal operating funds under the Public Health Service Act, 42 U. See Montana Code 50-4-803
• Female: means a member of the human species who, under normal development, has XX chromosomes and produces or would produce relatively large, relatively immobile gametes, or eggs, during her life cycle and has a reproductive and endocrine system oriented around the production of those gametes. See Montana Code 50-4-1003
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gender: means the psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural aspects of being male or female. See Montana Code 50-4-1003
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Health care: includes both physical health care and mental health care. See Montana Code 50-4-504
• Health care institution: means a public or private hospital, outpatient center for primary care, medical center, physician organization, professional association, outpatient center for surgical services, private physician's office, pharmacy, long-term care facility, medical school, nursing school, medical training facility, or any other entity or location in which health care services are performed. See Montana Code 50-4-1101
• Health care payer: means an employer, health plan, health maintenance organization, insurance company, management services organization, or another entity that pays for or arranges for payment for a health care service, in whole or in part. See Montana Code 50-4-1101
• Health care professional: means a person who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by the laws of this state to administer health care in the ordinary course of the practice of the person's profession. See Montana Code 50-4-1003
• Health care service: means medical research or medical care provided to a patient at any time during the patient's course of treatment, including but not limited to initial examination, testing, diagnosis, referral, dispensing or administration of a drug, medication, or device, psychological therapy or counseling, research, prognosis, therapy, record-making procedures, notes related to treatment, set up, or performance of a surgery or procedure, or any other care or service performed or provided by a medical practitioner. See Montana Code 50-4-1101
• Health insurer: means any health insurance company, health service corporation, health maintenance organization, insurer providing disability insurance as described in 33-1-207, and to the extent permitted under federal law, any administrator of an insured, self-insured, or publicly funded health care benefit plan offered by public and private entities. See Montana Code 50-4-504
• Health maintenance organization: has the meaning provided in 33-31-102. See Montana Code 50-4-701
• Health service corporation: has the meaning provided in 33-30-101. See Montana Code 50-4-701
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Male: means a member of the human species who, under normal development, has XY chromosomes and produces or would produce small, mobile gametes, or sperm, during his life cycle and has a reproductive and endocrine system oriented around the production of those gametes. See Montana Code 50-4-1003
• Medical practitioner: means a person who is or may be asked to participate in a health care service. See Montana Code 50-4-1101
• Minor: means an individual under 18 years of age. See Montana Code 50-4-1003
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Nonprofit health entity: means :

  (i)a nonprofit health maintenance organization; or

  (ii)a nonprofit health service corporation. See Montana Code 50-4-701

• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Ordinary course of business: means with respect to a transaction or disposition that the transaction comports with the usual and customary practices of the kind of business in which the nonprofit health entity is engaged. See Montana Code 50-4-701
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Participate in a health care service: means to provide, perform, assist with, facilitate, refer for, counsel for, advise with regard to, admit for the purposes of providing, or take part in any way in providing a health care service. See Montana Code 50-4-1101
• Person: means one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, or corporations. See Montana Code 50-4-1101
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Physician: means a person who is licensed to practice medicine in this state. See Montana Code 50-4-1003
• Preventive care: means comprehensive care that emphasizes prevention, early detection, and early treatment of conditions, including but not limited to routine physical examinations, health screenings, immunizations, and health education. See Montana Code 50-4-803
• Primary care: means the type of medical care that provides a patient with a broad spectrum of preventive and curative health care services over a long period of time and that coordinates all of the care a patient receives. See Montana Code 50-4-803
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• provider: means a person who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by the laws of this state to provide health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession. See Montana Code 50-4-504
• Public assets: include :

  (a)assets held for the benefit of the public or the community;

  (b)assets in which the public has an ownership interest;

  (c)assets owned by a governmental entity; and

  (d)assets owned by a nonprofit corporation to the extent that the corporation holds assets in a charitable trust. See Montana Code 50-4-701

• Sex: means the organization of body parts and gametes for reproduction in human beings and other organisms. See Montana Code 50-4-1003
• Social transitioning: means acts other than pharmaceutical or surgical interventions that are offered as treatment to a minor for the purpose of the minor presenting as the opposite sex or an identity other than the minor's sex, including the changing of a minor's preferred pronouns or dress and the recommendation to wear clothing or devices, such as binders, for the purpose of concealing a minor's secondary sex characteristics. See Montana Code 50-4-1003
• subscription: includes the mark of a person who cannot write if the person's name is written near the mark by another person who also signs that person's own name as a witness. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• Transferee: means the person in a conversion transaction that receives the ownership or control of the nonprofit health entity that is the subject of the conversion transaction or of the nonprofit health entity's assets. See Montana Code 50-4-701
• Transferor: means the nonprofit health entity that is the subject of the conversion transaction or the corporation that owns the nonprofit health entity that is the subject of the conversion transaction. See Montana Code 50-4-701
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Usual: means according to usage. See Montana Code 1-1-206
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203