Check out this video from Healthcare.gov on why having health insurance protects both your health and your finances:
How health insurance coverage works
When you have insurance, you pay some costs and your insurance plan pays some:
- Premium A premium is a fixed amount you pay to your insurance plan, usually every month. You pay this even if you don’t use medical care that month.
- Deductible If you need medical care, a deductible is the amount you pay for care before the insurance company starts to pay its share. Once you meet your deductible, your insurance company begins to cover some costs of your care. Some plans have lower deductibles, like $250. Some have higher deductibles, like $2000. Many plans providepreventive services, and sometimes other care, before you’ve met your deductible.
- Copayment A copayment is a fixed amount you’ll pay for a medical service after you’ve met your deductible. For example, after meeting your deductible you may pay $25 for a visit to the doctor’s office that would cost $150 if you didn’t have coverage. The health plan pays the rest.
- Coinsurance Coinsurance is similar to copayment, except it’s a percentage of costs you pay. For instance, you may pay 20% of the cost of a $100 medical bill. So you would pay $20 and the health plan would pay the rest.
