4 Important Health Insurance Terms You Need to Understand

Wednesday 5 May 2010 - Filed under Health Care Insurances + Insurance

You may have had health insurance coverage for most of your life, but it doesn’t mean that you know everything there is to know about it. Indeed, a lot of people have gone on without really understanding their policy – and this is something that should not be. To help you increase your understanding of health insurance, here are four of the most important terms that you ought to know.

Copayments
Each time you pay a visit to the doctor or you have a prescription filled, you pay a small amount. This amount is called a copayment. This is a flat fee determined by your health insurance plan.

Deductible
The deductible is the amount that you would have to pay annually prior to your health insurance policy kicking in. Once you’ve reached your deductible, your health insurance provider will start paying for health services.

Coinsurance
After you have met your deductible, you may still have to pay a fraction of the cost of health services. In most cases, this is 20 percent to 30 percent of what the health plan approves.

Out-of-pocket Expenses
This term is used to refer to the first three terms. The higher your out-of-pocket expenses, the lower your monthly premiums are.

2010-05-05  »  admin