Health care law encompasses the laws and regulations governing hospital and health care administration, and an understanding of health care insurance is integral to it. There are significant differences in the types and amount of coverage provided by various private insurance policies, such as HMOs, PPOs, disability insurance, and hospital indemnity insurance, just as there are important differences in the cost to the purchasers of health insurance. There are also public health care insurance programs. Elderly and disabled persons may be eligible for coverage through the federal Medicare program. The joint state-federal Medicaid program helps certain individuals, including disabled persons and low-income elderly persons, pay for long-term care and in-home health care.
Gaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. As of 2008, the city had an estimated total population of 58,744, making it the fourth largest city in the state behind Baltimore, Rockville, and Frederick. Gaithersburg is located at 39°8' North, 77°13' West, to the northwest of Washington, D.C. , and is considered a suburb and a primary city within the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Gaithersburg was incorporated in 1878. Gaithersburg is urbanistically diverse, encompassing a historic Old Town, which serves as its town center/downtown, multiple new urban communities, high-rise apartments, and many suburban subdivisions. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is headquartered in Gaithersburg. Other major employers in the city include IBM, Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Services business area headquarters, MedImmune (recently purchased by AstraZeneca), and Sodexo. The city is also the location of the 220th Military Police Brigade of the United States Army Reserve.