Deductible, co-payment, coinsurance: What they mean

national • The Obamacare debate: Defining key terms • LIVE

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4:24 PM

January 25 by Laurie McGinley and Amy Goldstein

Deductible, co-payment, coinsurance: What they mean

Deductible: The amount consumers must pay for health care services before the insurance plan begins to pay.

Co-payment: The fixed fee a patient must pay for a service after the deductible is met — for example, $20 for a doctor’s visit.

Coinsurance: The percentage of costs a patient must pay for a service after the deductible is paid — for example, 20 percent of a hospital stay.

3:54 PM

January 25 by Laurie McGinley and Amy Goldstein

The Obamacare debate: Defining key terms

Understanding health-care lingo can be challenging enough. But when you add political spin, you have a recipe for mass confusion, if not migraines. Here is a glossary of basic terms to help decode the debate.