Health care can be a complex battle, that is confusing to understand. As the new year comes around, and healthcare providers begin to renew health plans, there are several health insurance terms to understand:
Premium: The monthly fee for your insurance.
Deductible: The amount you pay for health care services before your health insurance begins to pay.
Co-pay: Your cost for routine services to which your deductible does not apply.
Co-insurance: The percentage you must pay for care after you’ve met your deductible.
Out-of-pocket maximum: The absolute max you’ll pay annually.
Most confusing of these terms is Deductible, Patients frequently ask about their deductible and what it means in regards to their treatment. So you start January 1st, each year with a fresh deductible to start chipping away at. If you meet the deductible then you’re out of it. Let’s say your plan’s deductible is $750. That means for most services, you’ll pay 100 percent of your medical and pharmacy bills until the amount you pay reaches $750. After that, you share the cost with your provider by paying coinsurance and copays. So, lets say you visit your Physical Therapist three times within the first month of health care renewal. Each visit contracted in-network through your healthcare provider costs $300, you will have to pay the full bill for the first two visits and $150 of the third, your insurance will cover half of the third visit.
Whats the moral of the story? Its a good idea to schedule your routine visits in early January to begin paying off your deductible with lots of time to finish the job and reap the benefits of deductible-met health care later on in the year. This insures your follow-up visits for the remainder of the year to be covered at the discounted rate of your co-insurance. So don’t hesitate on the road to wellness, and MOBILIZE your life today.
