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

Your Medicare supplement plan — also known as a Medigap plan — is designed to cover some or all of the costs not paid by traditional Medicare, including co-payments, co-insurance and deductibles. —Liz Weston, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Aug. 2023

The policy proposal would also give Ohio Job and Family Services the flexibility to waive co-payments for families that include a child with a disability and those with monthly income at or below 150% of the federal poverty level ($2,879 for a family of three), according to the report. —Sabrina Eaton, cleveland, 25 Aug. 2023

Before the payment pause, Ms. Dorn had been relying on her credit card to cover expenses like an unexpected emergency-room visit, veterinary bills, health care co-payments and new car tires. —Jacqui Germain, New York Times, 22 July 2023

People with Medicaid usually don’t pay out of pocket for covered medical care, but may have a small co-payment for some services, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. —Liz Seegert, Fortune Well, 11 July 2023

The Administration believes that capping childcare co-payments at 7% of income would allow nearly 80,000 families to lower their childcare bills. —Time, 11 July 2023

Medicare on Thursday noted that enrollees in its Original Medicare will have to pay a co-payment of 20% of the cost of the drug, after meeting their deductible. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 10 July 2023

Some families were previously paying up to 10% of their income in co-payments toward the state’s child-care subsidies. —Jenny Gold, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2023

Medigap plans can cover some cataract surgery costs that Original Medicare doesn’t—like co-payments, co-insurance and deductibles. —Byrichard Eisenberg, Fortune Well, 4 July 2023

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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