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.
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in the central part of the U.S. state of Texas. The population is about 120,000 in 2008. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County. Dyess Air Force Base is located on the west side of the city. Abilene is located off Interstate 20, between exits 279 on its western edge and 292 on the east. Abilene is 150 miles (240 km) west of Fort Worth, Texas. The city is looped by I-20 to the north, US 83/84 on the west, and Loop 322 to the east. A railroad divides the city down the center into north and south. The historic downtown area is on the north side of the railroad. The fastest-growing sections of the city are growing to the southwest, along Southwest Drive, the Winters Freeway, and the Buffalo Gap Road corridor; the southeast, along Loop 322, Oldham Lane, Industrial Drive, and Maple Street; and in the northeast near the intersection of SH 351 and I-20. Many developments have begun in these three areas within the last few years. There are three lakes in the city, Lytle Lake on the western edge of Abilene Regional Airport, Kirby Lake on the southeast corner of the US 83/84 & Loop 322 interchange, and Lake Fort Phantom in Jones County north of the city.