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Health insurance is an agreement.
You agree to pay a certain amount of money to the insurer,
the insurer agrees to help pay for your medical and other bills when you need
care.
These bills can be for different types of care such as doctor visits or an
X-Ray exam.
The health policy defines what you pay
and what the insurer will pay.
Unfortunately, the terms used in lengthy small print insurance policies are not
easy for the average person to understand.
You've heard terms like co-pay,
deductible
and co-insurance.
But what do they mean?
These terms are used by insurance companies to categorize costs that are
shared with you.
These are costs that relate to helping you maintain your health.
First,
What is a co-pay?
A co-pay is the flat fee you pay each time you receive medical care.
For example,
You may pay twenty dollars each time you visit the doctor.
What is the annual deductible?
A deductible is the annual amount you pay each year before your plan begins
paying covered health care costs.
What is co-insurance?
Co-insurance is the amount you must pay for health care after you have met your
deductible.
Typically,
your plan will pay eighty percent of an approved amount
and your co-insurance will be twenty percent
but this may vary from plan to plan.