The insurance copayment is defined in an individual's health insurance policy. It is the dollar amount that is charged and paid upon receiving health care; which includes, but not limited to physicians, pharmacies, and emergency room visits. A copayment is also sometimes referred to as co-pays or insurance copayments. Insurance copayments are often confused with deductibles. But a deductible is an annual amount that is due before the health insurance plan will begin to cover any medical expenses.

Copayments are insurance companies' attempt to discourage people from making fraudulent claims or from seeking unnecessary medical attention by sharing the expenses with them. The exact amount due varies from plan to plan. It can be set at fixed amount or based on a percentage of the total bill.

If you chose a health insurance plan that has a fixed copayment, you can expect to pay the same amount each time you receive medical attention regardless of how expensive the total bill is (as long as you are still within your allotted coverage for the year). Fixed copayments are beneficial on more expensive visits, but are less efficient for routine care. With fixed copayments, it is possible to find yourself paying out of pocket for a visit because it was cheaper than the copayment. Fixed copayments are also more predictable than copayments based on percentages or variable rates.

Variable rate copayments and percentage based copayments are essentially the same thing. With these types of copayments the amount of money you pay will be a percentage of the total bill. This percentage will be based on the amount of your monthly payment i.e. the more you pay each month, the higher percentage they will cover visit and vice versa. People who select this type of insurance copayment have a higher incentive to compare the costs of various health care providers. The exact same medical procedure could cost you more at one facility than another. You can also expect to encounter variable rates when picking up prescriptions. The copayment for generic brands is usually covered at a higher percentage than non-generic brands; which makes the generic brands more affordable for the consumer.

There are several of other factors such as age, health, occupation, smoker/nonsmoker, etc. that can affect the details of your copayment. There is no one-fits-all plan. Each person must select a health insurance plan that they are comfortable with. Choosing a plan that is not right for you could possibly result in you becoming effectively un-insured. This occurs when a person cannot afford their copayment and therefore cannot receive the medical attention they were seeking.