In addition to the deductibles, there are two other payment requirements you may have to meet.
- Co-payment – In this, you will have to pay a certain amount for a medical service you opt, before your medical insurance company bears your healthcare service expenses. These payments are designed with an aim of sharing the expenses of the insurance company. While copayments are a small amount to be paid by the insured, it makes sure that people avail insurance benefits only when in real need. It prevents people from seeking medical care when unnecessary. Although sometimes it may make people avoid necessary medical action for the sake of saving money, health insurance is still a necessary alternative.
- Co-insurance payments – In this, your medical insurance company will pay for a major portion of your expenses, while you will have bear a certain percentage of your medical service costs too.
The most important point to note is that co-payment is a definite amount that you need to pay before you meet your deductible and co-insurance is a certain percentage of your medical service costs after you have met the deductible. Generally co-payments do not contribute to out-of pocket expenses maximums, while coinsurance payments can do so.
