also called cash plus points · co-payment · copay · miles plus money
A fixed share of a medical cost you pay while the insurer covers the rest.
A co-pay is a fixed amount you pay toward a medical service while your insurer covers the rest, a set charge per visit or treatment. It is separate from the deductible, which is the amount you clear before the insurer starts paying at all. How big the co-pay is, and on what, varies a lot from one policy to the next, so it shapes what each appointment actually costs you.
You compare two health plans that look similar on the headline price, then read the fine print. One asks a small fixed co-pay each time you see a doctor and the other a larger one, and once you think about how often you actually visit, the cheaper-looking plan is not the cheaper one for you.
It affects the real cost of each treatment, separate from the deductible, and varies a lot between policies.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These split into the slice of each bill you carry and the ways an insurer pays less or nothing.
A deductible or excess is a fixed amount you pay before cover starts, the same idea in US and British wording; a co-pay is a fixed charge each time; and co-insurance is a percentage you keep paying after that.
A claim excess is that fixed slice on an approved claim.
Premium loading is a higher price charged because you are higher risk, while claim repudiation is a refused claim and a voided policy is cover treated as never valid, usually because something was not disclosed.
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