What Is Copay or Copayment? A copay is a fixed out-of-pocket amount paid by an insured for covered services. It is a standard part of many health insurance ...LinkedInwithBackgroundInsuranceCarInsuranceHomeInsuranceLifeInsuranceDisabilityInsuranceHealthInsuranceLong-TermCareInsuranceLiabilityInsurancePersonalFinanceInsuranceWhatIsCopayorCopayment?Acopayisafixedout-of-pocketamountpaidbyaninsuredforcoveredservices.Itisastandardpartofmanyhealthinsuranceplans.Insuranceprovidersoftenchargeco-paysforservicessuchasdoctorvisitsorprescriptiondrugs.Copaysareaspecifieddollaramountratherthanapercentageofthebill,andtheyusuallypaidatthetimeofservice.Notallmedicalservicesaskyouforacopay.Forexample,someinsurancecompaniesdonotrequireacopayforannualphysicals.1:19Co-PayHowCo-PayWorksCopayfeesvaryamonginsurersbuttypicallyare$25orless.Forexample,aninsuranceplanwithcopaysmayrequiretheinsuredtopay$25perdoctorvisitor$10perprescription.Reviewthetermsofyourinsuranceplantodetermineyourcopaymentoption.KeyTakeawaysNotallmedicalvisitsrequirecopaymentsfrompatients. Out-of-networkvisitsmighthavehighercopaymentsorcopaysthanin-networkmedicalproviders.Deductiblesaremuchlargersumsthancopays.Copaysandcoinsurancearenotthesamethings.Coinsuranceisapercentageofthebill,acopayisafixedamount.Ifthereisacopayoption,itmayincludedifferentfeesforphysicianvisits,emergencyroomvisits,specialists'visits,andothermedicalservices.Insuranceprovidersoftenchargehighercopaysforappointmentswithout-of-networkproviders. Itisimportanttobeawareofhowmuchout-of-networkproviderschargeforcopays,especiallyifyouaremakingrecurringvisits.Copayamountsmaychangeannually,soitisworthcheckinginwithyourinsurancecompanyorHRdepartmenttofindoutiftheamountshavegoneupwhenanewyearbegins.HowDoCopaysAffectInsurancePremiums?Apremiumisanamountpaidforaninsurancepolicy.Inmostcases,planswithrelativelyhighpremiumsarelikelytohavelowco-pays,whileplanswithlowpremiumsaremorelikelytohavehighco-pays.HowDoCopaysandDeductiblesAffectEachOther?Adeductibleisanamountani