How do out-of-pocket maximums work?
You share the cost of your care with your health insurance company when you pay your deductible, coinsurance and copays. But there’s a limit to how much you pay. It’s called an out-of-pocket max, or maximum.
It’s the most you’ll have to pay during a policy period, usually a year, for health care services.
How it works
What you pay toward your plan’s deductible, coinsurance and copays are all applied to your out-of-pocket max.
Once you reach your out-of-pocket max, your plan pays 100 percent of the allowed amount for covered services.
If your plan covers more than one person, you may have a family out-of-pocket max and individual out-of-pocket maximums. That means:
- When the deductible, coinsurance and copays for one person reach the individual maximum, your plan then pays 100 percent of the allowed amount for that person
- When what you’ve paid toward individual maximums adds up to your family out-of-pocket max, your plan will pay 100 percent of the allowed amount for health care services for everyone on the plan
What doesn’t go toward your out-of-pocket max
- Amounts you pay for health care services that aren’t included in your plan’s benefits
- Your monthly payment, or premium, if you buy your own health insurance