beneficiary

The beneficiary is enrolled in a health insurance plan and receives benefits through the policy in the form of paid claims and/or network-negotiated rates for the portion of the claim that the beneficiary has to pay.

A beneficiary can have any type of health insurance, including Medicare, Medicaid, or private coverage. But it’s particularly very common to see this term used in relation to Medicare (e.g. “there are 66 million Medicare beneficiaries” means that 66 million people are enrolled in Medicare)

The term beneficiary is also used in the context of life insurance, and refers to the person (or people) who receives payment under the plan in the event that the insured person passes away.