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 may still be on the hook for a portion of the costs. 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 percent of your health care costs while you pay 20 percent. Other plans pay 70 percent while you pay 30 percent.
• The deductible on your coverage. Many plans come with deductibles. This is the amount you pay for covered health care services before your insurance plan starts to pay.
• Co-payment requirements. Co-payments are small costs that you pay when you go to the doctor. Your co-payment 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 an elective surgery that is not medically necessary.

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 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.