What is Co-Pay in Health Insurance: It is important that you check the policy documents to know about any applicable co-payments before buying. In health insurance, the co-payment is a fixed percentage of the claim amount, which is paid by the insured himself. This is decided at the time of buying the policy.
This is different from the deductible. The major difference between the two is that in co-payment you have to pay a fixed percentage of the claim, while deductible is a fixed amount. It is decided every year. However, both these costs are paid during a claim before the insurance coverage begins. Also the co-payment can be applied only on specific covers or services. For example, on diseases with high treatment cost or going to a hospital for treatment which is outside the network of hospitals of the insurance company. The deductible is applicable on the full cost of the medical cover.
What is the advantage of co-payment
This can work in your favor only if you know that you are healthy and you will not need to go to the hospital or undergo major treatment in the near future. This is because its biggest advantage is that its premium is very low. The higher the co-pay, the lower the premium. Apart from this, it also prevents any person from getting admitted to the hospital for minor ailments.
Disadvantages of taking this type of policy
This type of insurance policy is not liked very much. The biggest reason for this is that if you have to pay from your pocket at the time of illness, then what is the benefit of taking insurance. Here the whole purpose of insurance gets destroyed. Playing with life just to save money is not advised by experts. Due to co-payment, many times people do not go to the hospital to get admitted for any major illness. This is also a big disadvantage of it.
Should you buy this policy?
If you feel that you are ready to take the risk then this policy can be bought. Before taking this policy, any person should get a full medical checkup done once so that there is no possibility of any hidden disease.
