Deductible (Health Insurance)
The amount you must pay for healthcare services before your insurance begins to pay — ranging from $0 for some plans to $7,000+ for high-deductible plans.
How It Works
The deductible is a key factor in understanding hospital costs for individual patients. Plans with low premiums typically have high deductibles, and vice versa. High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) have deductibles of at least $1,600 for individuals ($3,200 for families) in 2025 and qualify for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). For a patient with a $5,000 deductible, a $15,000 hospital stay means paying the first $5,000 out of pocket before insurance kicks in. This is why hospital price transparency matters most for patients with high-deductible plans — they're paying closer to "real" prices for the first few thousand dollars of care.
Related Terms
- Out-of-Pocket Maximum — The most you'll pay for covered healthcare services in a plan year — after reaching this amount, your insurance pays 100% of covered services.
- Chargemaster (Charge Description Master) — A hospital's master list of prices for every item and service — from aspirin to surgery — typically containing tens of thousands of line items with prices that bear little relation to actual costs.
Explore Hospital Data
About This Definition
This definition is part of the HospitalCostData Hospital Pricing Glossary — 25 terms explaining hospital costs, quality ratings, and healthcare billing. Written for patients, journalists, researchers, and healthcare professionals.