copayment

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copayment

(kō′pā′mənt)

A specified sum of money that patients covered by a health insurance plan pay for a given type of service, usually at the time the service is rendered.

co·pay·ment

, copay (kōpā-mĕnt, kōpā)

A fixed or set amount paid for each health care or medical service; the remainder is paid by the health insurance plan. In common parlance, copay is the term used.
See also: coinsurance, cost sharing
Synonym(s): out-of-pocket costs, out-of-pocket expenses.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

co·pay·ment

, copay (kōpā-mĕnt, kōpā)

That portion of a dental care charge for which the patient herself, rather than a third party payor (i.e., insurer), is responsible.

Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions © Farlex 2012

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References in periodicals archive ?

Specifically, the SilverScript Plus plan offers $0 copays for 90-day supplies of both Tier 1 and Tier 2 drugs through the CVS Caremark mail-service pharmacy in the initial coverage phase and through the coverage gap, which can help keep the member cost-share of these drugs consistent as they transition into and through the coverage gap.

SilverScript premieres new PDP options

Today, nearly all health plans cover prescription contraceptives at varying copays. Monthly birth control copays typically range from $10 to $50; copays and other out-of-pocket expenses for long-term contraception cost significantly more up-front.

The right prescription? Health plans warn of added costs from a new mandate to remove copays for preventive women's services

Patient incentive or copay reduction programs offer a tool to address one aspect of this problem.

Best practices in: the role of copay reduction programs within a physician's practice

It is critical to cash flow to collect copays at the time of service and, in fact, it is a contractual obligation for the provider.

Obfuscating insurance cards

Screening rates were 8.3% lower for women in insurance plans requiring a copay than in plans that picked up the full cost of mammograms.

Copay may be a deterrent to getting mammograms

Paying about $550 per month, plus copays, for COBRA was not an option.

Illness hits, coverage quits

Note: most persons on Extra Help pay the same copays for a 30-day or 90-day supply of drugs--so it helps to get the doctor to write prescriptions for 90-day supplies when appropriate.

Medicare prescription nightmare: overview January 28, 2006

The employee's share will rise to $1,610--which is a 14-percent increase and also entails higher copays and a 2 percent reduction in benefit levels.

Health care's financial forecast--2005 and beyond

Three-tiered drug systems are effective, says Deborah Persic, vice president of self-funded plans for Gardner & White in Indianapolis, but she recommends that copays "be much higher than in the past." She also advises clients to consider coinsurance for prescription drugs, where the employee pays a percentage of the drug cost--such as 20-25 percent--rather than a flat copay.

Ouch!

The rates of blood pressure screening use were lower for individuals in PPO/Indemnity plans with deductibles/coinsurance and copays compared to the use rates for persons enrolled in plans with no cost-sharing, and fewer of those with copays had blood pressure screening than those with no costsharing in group model HMOs.

The Direct and Indirect Effects of Cost-Sharing on the Use of Preventive Services

For example, if a hospital charges your insurer $3,500 for a type of echocardiogram and the same test costs $550 in a doctor's office, you might go for the lower-price procedure to save on copays.