It’s no secret that health care is expensive. Cutting-edge technology and delicate procedures make for hefty costs for providers and patients. For most patients, their health insurance pays for the majority of the costs of their care. This significantly lessens the out-of-pocket expenses that the average consumer faces. 
Though insurance will likely cover a lot of your costs, you might still face residual bills. This is because your policy likely won’t cover every type of care you receive at full price. Furthermore, your policy itself costs money. Before receiving medical care, take some time to learn more about the costs you might face.
How Health Insurance Requires Payment
Every health insurance plan is different. The structure of each plan will likely determine the costs you face for your health care. Some of these variables might include:
- Your plan’s level of coverage. Different plans offer different proportions of coverage. For example, some plans will pay for 80% of your health care costs while you pay 20%. Other plans pay 70% while you pay 30%.
- The deductible on your coverage. Many plans come with deductibles. This is the cost for your care that you must shoulder on your own. Usually, you pay more for your care before you meet the deductible. After you pay off the deductible, your bills will likely drop. Even so, often, you can still receive covered care before paying off the deductible cost.
- Copayment requirements. Copayments are small costs that you pay when you go to the doctor. Your copayment might vary based on the type of care you receive.
Remember, you might find that certain services have no coverage on your plan. This means you might have to pay your full medical bill out-of-pocket. A common example of this is when you want to receive plastic surgery. Unless the procedure is for an explicit medical benefit, you might not get coverage.
Don’t forget, you’ll still have to pay your premium costs as an added expense. This is the bill you pay for your health insurance policy. Different factors like your age, location, tobacco-use history and the type of plan often determine your premium. You pay this bill regularly to keep your plan active.
Talk to your insurance agent about the costs you will likely pay for your plan. They can help you determine which protection is the best for you.