Copayment

Copayment is a small fee that is usually due at the time services are provided under managed medical plans such as health maintenance organizations (HMO), preferred provider organizations (PPO), and point of service (POS) plans.  The copayment amount is usually described as nominal, or small, by the health insurance plan.  Typical copayment amounts are currently in the range of $5 to $20.  While this is often positioned as a sharing of medical expenses, most view the charging of copayments as a way of insuring that policyholders are not "overusing" their medical benefits.

Since copayment is the responsibility of the patient, it is related to other fee sharing terms such as deductible and coinsurance.