Explanations of the words and phrases used by Medicare are in the Medicare Glossary.

T

Tax Basis — The value of an asset for income tax purposes. This varies by the asset and the means by which it was acquired.

Telephone Reassurance — Calls made by agencies or volunteers to an elderly person to check up on them and offer reassurance, contact and socialization. The calls are typically made at a predetermined time each day.

Testate — Dying with a legally valid will.

Testator — The person who makes a will.

Third Party Notice — A provision that lets you name someone who the insurance company would notify if your coverage is about to end because the premium hasn’t been paid. This can be a relative, friend, or professional such as a lawyer or accountant, for example.

Toileting — The fifth activity of daily living — Getting to and from the toilet, getting on and off the toilet and performing associated personal hygiene.

Transferring — The sixth activity of daily living — Moving into and out of a bed, chair or wheelchair.

Trigger — A condition that must exist in order for an insurance company to pay benefits under a long-term care insurance policy.

Trust — A legal arrangement in which an individual (the trustor) gives fiduciary control of property to a person or institution (the trustee) for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries.

Trustee — An individual or organization designated in a trust document to manage the assets held in the trust for the benefit of the trust’s beneficiary or beneficiaries.

Trustor — The person who creates a trust; also called a grantor.

TTY — A text telephone system that allows a hearing-impaired user to type messages to another person and read responses on a small screen. Similar to today’s text messaging, a “read only” conversation can exist between two people who each use TTY equipment. Otherwise, a non-hearing-impaired caller can use a relay service where a special operator acts as a go-between to translate the speaker’s words into text and text print into voice communication.

U

Underwriting — The process of examining, accepting, or rejecting insurance applications, and classifying those people who are accepted, in order to charge the proper premium for each person.

Universal Life Insurance — A flexible type of policy that lets you periodically adjust your premium payments and the amount of your coverage.

Urologist — This is a physician who specializes in disorders of the urinary system including, for men, cancer found in any part of the male reproductive system.

W

Waiting Period — The length of time an insured person must pay for covered services before the insurance company will begin to pay benefits. Unless otherwise noted in the insurance policy, no benefits are payable for any days of an elimination period.

Waiver of Premium — If a policy contains this provision, premiums don’t have to be paid while an insured person is receiving benefits if the specified conditions are met.

Will — A written document through which a person disposes of property after death.

Whole Life Insurance — Policies that build a cash value and cover a person for as long as he or she lives if premiums continue to be paid.

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