co-payment

noun

co-pay·​ment ˈkō-ˌpā-mənt 

ˌkō-ˈpā-

variants or co-pay

ˈkō-ˈpā 

or copay or less commonly copayment

plural co-payments or co-pays or copays also copayments

: a relatively small fixed fee that a health insurer (such as an HMO) requires the patient to pay upon incurring a medical expense (as for a routine office visit, surgical procedure, or prescription drug) covered by the health insurer

… patient out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and co-payments have grown alongside overall [health care] costs.

—kvtz.com

… you can put away tax-sheltered dollars that can be used to pay out-of-pocket medical expenses, such as your doctor visit co-pays or other medical expenses not otherwise covered by your insurance.

—Philadelphia Inquirer

… employees currently have a 10% copay for prescriptions, whether they are purchased at the in-house pharmacy or a network pharmacy.

—Joyce Frieden

Examples of co-payment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Medicare recipients will also have the new option of spreading their payments out over the course of the year, rather than paying a large co-payment all at once. —Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, 25 Dec. 2024

Over the past five years, U.S. spending on insurance premiums, out-of-pocket co-payments, pharmaceuticals and hospital services has also increased, government data shows. —Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 18 Dec. 2024

Patient co-payments and deductibles have been maxed out. —Arthur E Palamara, Orlando Sentinel, 14 Dec. 2024

Americans pay more for health care than any other country and over the past five years, spending on insurance premiums, out-of-pocket co-payments, pharmaceuticals and hospital services has increased, government data shows. —Stephanie Kelly and Julie Steenhuysen, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

co-payment

noun

co-pay·​ment (ˈ)kō-ˈpā-mənt 

: a relatively small fixed fee that a health insurer (as an HMO) requires the patient to pay upon incurring a medical expense (as for a routine office visit, surgical procedure, or prescription drug) covered by the health insurer