Coinsurance: The percentage or amount you pay for certain covered health care services under your health plan.

Consumer-Directed Health Care (CDHC): Health insurance plans and programs intended to make consumers better-informed and more effective users of health care services, provide more control over health care dollars, and make paying for health insurance more affordable.

Copayment: A fixed dollar amount you pay for certain covered health care services like prescriptions, doctor visits, and emergency services under your health plan.

Cost Sharing: Provisions in a health plan that require the member to share a portion of the cost for his or her use of health care services. Copayments, deductibles, and coinsurance are all types of cost sharing.

Covered Expenses: Health care expenses that are covered under the health plan.

Deductible: A fixed dollar amount you pay first toward health care costs before benefits are available through the health plan. Under some plans, the deductible is waived for specific services, like preventive care.

Flexible Spending Account (Flex Account): A Flex account allows you to save tax-free dollars for qualified medical and/or dependent care expenses. No health insurance is required to open a Flex account.

Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA): An account where an employer deposits pre-tax dollars for each covered employee. Employees then use this account to seek reimbursement for qualified health care expenses. Unused money in the account at the end of the plan year can be carried over to the next year. This type of fund is not portable from employer to employer.

Health Savings Account (HSA): A medical savings account used to set aside pre-tax money to pay for eligible medical expenses. Must have a qualified HDHP to be eligible to open an HSA. After age 65, account contributions may be used for non-health-related expenses without penalty. Even at age 65 or older, HSA withdrawals for non-medical expenses are subject to income taxes.

Qualified, High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP): A health plan designed to give you more control over your health care spending by offering lower monthly premiums in exchange for higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximum limits. A qualified HDHP is designed to meet the specifications of the U.S. Treasury Department. These qualified plans make you eligible to open a tax-advantaged health savings account (HSA). Together, a qualified HDHP and an HSA can be a powerful tool to help control and manage your health care costs.

Out-of-Pocket Maximum (OPM): The out-of-pocket maximum is the most a member generally pays for covered services during a benefit period. The deductible and coinsurance apply toward meeting the out-of-pocket maximum. Copayments may not apply toward the OPM. Deductible and OPM may be the same dollar limit, or have different dollar limits.

Premium: The monthly amount paid to a health plan for providing coverage under a health plan contract. Typically, plans with higher deductibles will have lower premiums.

Preventive Care: Health care that is for prevention; not for an active disease or illness. Preventive care focuses on wellness, health promotion, and other activities that reduce the likelihood of future illness or injury (example: routine physical).