Lately, we have been hearing a lot on TV about the issue of co-payments in health care. health insurance. In this post we will see exactly what they are, how they are applied and our opinion about them. Let's see what the big difference is between health insurance with and without co-payment and which one is relevant in each case.
Co-payment in health insurance
The co-payment, as defined by many insurance companies, consists of a “small” amount to be borne by the insured of a health care policy, every time he or she uses it. We put in inverted commas “small” because in some cases the amount can be as high as €100 per use.
What is health insurance without co-payment?
From this definition, it is easy to see what health insurance without co-payment is all about. In this type of insurance, the amount is the same, regardless of the number of visits you have made to the doctor's office or the type of tests you have undergone during that period. In other words, the cost will not change at the end of the month.
Difference between insurance with and without co-payments
Therefore, the fundamental difference between a policy with co-payments and no co-payments is:
With co-payments: the insured assumes a part of the cost of the service, each time he/she uses the policy: for a visit to a specialist, for an intervention, for the use of diagnostic means...
No co-payments: the insured person pays his monthly premium, but does not have to worry about paying anything each time he goes to the specialist, as everything is paid in full by the company.
Why do policies with co-payments arise?
Its origin was idea of insurance companies. They aim to raise awareness among their policyholders that using the policy has a cost, and they share this cost with the users, with the aim of objective of limiting the use of the policy to the minimum necessary.
Precisely for this reason, in our Insurance Brokerage we are not in favour of offering policies with co-payments to a client from the outset, unless they expressly ask us to do so.
Why? Because we understand that the person who assumes a significant cost in their health insurance, what they least want is to have to face an extra cost. It seems to us to be a contradiction, although we have to do the maths to find out whether we are really interested in co-payment or not.
Group rates in health insurance
The advantage of health insurance with co-payments is that it is somewhat cheaper than a policy without co-payments. However, our Insurance Brokerage has special agreements with different insurers that allows them to match or better those prices, even in policies without co-payments.
Because we bring them hundreds of policyholders a year, companies are willing to give us rates that are better than the individual prices that customers can find by going directly to the company.
If you want us to advise you on your health insurance, contact us, and put yourself in good hands.
