What is a Co-Payment?
A co-payment, or co-pay, is the amount that you pay out of pocket for a covered service once you’ve hit your deductible. Co-payments will vary depending on the service performed. Typically insurance plans with lower co-payments have higher monthly premiums, while plans with higher co-payments will usually have lower monthly premiums.
How Co-Payments Work
Once you’ve hit your insurance plan’s deductible, you will only owe the co-payment to have an eligible service performed, and your insurer will pay for the rest. For example, if your copayment for a routine veterinary exam is $25, that is what you will pay out-of-pocket once you’ve hit your plan’s deductible.
Pet insurance does not typically have co-payments. Instead, you pay for the veterinary treatment out-of-pocket, and your pet insurance provider will reimburse you for eligible treatments based on your insurance plan. This saves you the hassle of having to check if your veterinarian is in-network.
Key Takeaways
- Co-payments are the amount you’ll pay out-of-pocket for an eligible medical service after hitting your deductible.
- The majority of pet insurance plans do not use copays and will reimburse you directly for eligible veterinary expenses.
