Okuzeka
Healthcare Management vocabulary · Health Insurance and Reimbursement

Out-of-pocket

Meaning in healthcare management, with examples

adjectiveCommon term

In healthcare management, out-of-pocket means: Paid directly by patients from their own money, rather than by an insurer or a public system.

In Turkish: cepten yapılan, cepten ödenen

How it is used

Mostly in the phrases out-of-pocket costs, expenses or payments. Health economists use out-of-pocket spending as a share of total health spending to judge how well a system protects people from financial hardship. After a verb there are no hyphens: 'patients pay out of pocket'.

Example sentences

  1. Out-of-pocket costs for dental care are high because few people have dental cover.

  2. Many patients pay out of pocket to avoid long waiting lists.

Common collocations

  • out-of-pocket costs
  • out-of-pocket expenses
  • out-of-pocket spending
  • pay out of pocket
  • copaymentA fixed amount that a patient pays towards the cost of a visit, prescription or treatment, while the insurer or public payer covers the rest.
  • deductibleThe amount a patient must pay for their own care in a policy year before their health insurance starts to pay.
  • universal health coverageA situation in which everyone can get the health services they need, when and where they need them, without suffering financial hardship.
  • health insuranceA system or contract in which regular payments to a public fund or a company cover all or part of a person's medical costs.

More terms: Health Insurance and Reimbursement

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.