Co-payment

Co-payment

A relatively small fixed fee that a health insurer (such as an HMO) requires the patient to pay upon incurring a medical expense (as for a routine office visit, surgical procedure, or prescription drug) covered by the health insurer. The reason insurance companies apply the copayments principle is to share health care costs to prevent moral hazard. It may be a small portion of the actual cost of the medical service but is meant to deter people from seeking medical care that may not be necessary, e.g., an infection by the common cold. For example, imagine you receive a filling from a dentist. Your insurer charges a 200 co-pay for every dental appointment, and it levies a 20% coinsurance fee for fillings. If the dentist costs 2000, you pay 200 copay and you may have a 400 coinsurance to sum up a total of 600 for the appointment. Many insurance companies choose their copays based on the estimated cost of a visit. When the visit is urgent care it will be treating you on an urgent basis, the care will likely cost more than a routine checkup with a primary care physician. This is one of the biggest factors in a higher copay for urgent care. Copays are different from deductible. Deductible is the amount of money you must pay out-of-pocket toward covered benefits before your health insurance company starts paying. In most cases your copay will not go toward your deductible. #benewinsurance #insurtech #inclusiveinsurance #insurance #reinsurance #takaful