Health Module

Unit 3:  Understanding Health Insurance

Lesson 1:  The Language of Health Insurance

Notes This lesson focuses on insurance.  For discussion of other methods of paying for health care, see Units 1 and 2.

Materials:

NOTE:  Handouts 2a and 2b are part of a matching game.  See Appendix D for specific preparation and lesson plan instructions.

Notes If possible, you might want to bring examples of claim forms or statements of benefit in to show the students.

Word Bank:  (presented in Activity 1)

This lesson is a vocabulary building exercise, so Word Bank items do not need to be presented in advance.

premium
policy
primary care doctor
copayment
claim
deductible
covered expenses
exclusions
maximum out-of-pocket
statement of benefits
HMO (health maintenance organization)
pre-existing condition
PPO (preferred provider organization)
coinsurance
 

Introductory Activity:  Whole group discussion

  • Today we are going to talk about health insurance.  What do you already know about it?  Does anyone here have health insurance now?

  • How can you get health insurance?

  • There are special words for talking about things in health insurance.  Do you know some of these words?  Can you give an example?

Notes Probably you will find a mix of students who have insurance and students who don't.  Even if students have it, it is doubtful that they know all of the vocabulary.

 

Activity 1:  Health Insurance Vocabulary

Distribute Handout 1.

  • Now I'm going to give you a handout with some insurance vocabulary.  Look at the words and see if you have heard them before.

  • Let's talk about them.  Tell me any that you know and we'll write definitions on the board.  You can copy the definitions on your paper.

Activity 2 AHS version:  Health Insurance Website

  • Now to find the rest of the terms we are going to look at a government website.  This website is for the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.  Here is the URL.  Work with a partner and go to the website. www.ahcpr.gov/consumer/insuranc.htm

Notes If you feel your students will need the reinforcement, you can give them definitions for everything before they use the website.  They should still read and write definitions to see the terms used and practice with them.

Notes While this website attempts to simplify definitions of health insurance terms, it is still somewhat complicated.  Please be sure to preview it to determine whether it is appropriate for students’ reading levels.  AHS instructors may prefer to use the ESOL activity below if simpler definitions are needed.

  • When you get to the website you will see the contents of the webpage.  Scroll down to "Understanding Health Insurance Terms" and click on it.  Write down any new definitions you and your partner find.

  • We will discuss the terms when you are all finished to make sure you understand them.

  • Pair work followed by whole group discussion.

 

Activity 2 ESOL version:  Matching

Pass out sets of matching cards made by cutting up Handouts 2a and 2b

Notes NOTE:  See Appendix D for more variations on the matching activity to incorporate more oral practice.

  • Now I'd like you to work in groups of 3-4.  Match the vocabulary cards to their definition cards.  If you are sure you have the right match, you can write the definition on your papers.  If you're not sure, wait until we check the matches together.

  • Check activity together.
     

Activity 3:  More Practice

This is an info gap activity.

  • Now you are going to work in pairs.  Choose a partner.  I will give one of you Handout 3a and the other Handout 3b.

  • You and a partner will work together to decide what the different terms mean.  One of you will look at Handout 3a, and the other will look at Handout 3b. 

  • Student A can read their terms to student B.  Student B looks for the explanation on his or her paper and writes the word.  When Student B has written all of Student A’s words with an explanation, Student B reads his or her terms to Student A.  Now Student A writes the terms next to the explanations on his or her paper.

  • You can check each other’s papers when you are finished.

 

Optional Listening and Writing Expansion Activity:  AHS

Learners can read the completed explanations to each other as dictation sentences.

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