Which term refers to the amount a patient must pay before insurance kicks in?

The term that refers to the amount a patient must pay before their insurance begins to cover costs is the deductible. A deductible is a specific dollar amount that an insured individual must pay out-of-pocket for medical expenses before their health insurance plan will start to pay for services.

For example, if a health insurance policy has a deductible of $1,000, the patient is responsible for paying the first $1,000 of their covered healthcare expenses. Once this amount is met, the insurance will begin to cover its share of the costs for additional medical services, depending on the specific terms of the policy.

In contrast, other concepts like the premium, coinsurance, and copayment have different roles in the structure of health insurance. A premium is the amount paid for the health insurance policy on a regular basis, often monthly. Coinsurance is the percentage of costs that the insured pays after the deductible has been met, while a copayment is a fixed fee that the insured pays at the time of service, such as a doctor's visit. Understanding these definitions helps clarify the unique role that deductibles play in the overall framework of health insurance billing.