Personal Finance Calculators

Cost of Healthcare Calculator

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Cost of Healthcare Calculator

When choosing your health insurance plan there is a trade-off between paying more each month for a lower bill when you’re sick, or paying less and risk a higher bill later. This calculator shows you how different insurance plans perform in real-life situations, from a healthy year to a major medical event. Helping you understand the range of healthcare costs you could one day face.

How to Use the Calculator

  1. In Insurance Plan Details, use the sliders to set the plan’s monthly premium, deductible, co-insurance, and out-of-pocket maximum.
  2. Select a Healthcare Scenario to simulate how much medical care you might need in a year.
  3. The Annual Healthcare Costs chart and summary update instantly, showing your total cost and how it breaks down between fixed premiums and your share of medical bills.

Insurance Plan Details

$300
$1,500
20%
$6,000

Healthy Year: 2 doctor visits, 1 prescription

Total Medical Bill: $800

Note: This calculator provides estimates based on typical healthcare scenarios. Actual costs may vary.

Your Annual Healthcare Costs

Cost Breakdown

In a Healthy Year, your total out-of-pocket healthcare cost would be $4,400, consisting of $3,600 in fixed premiums and $800 for medical services.

Key Financial Terms

  • Premium: The fixed amount you pay to an insurance company each month to keep your health plan active. This cost is due whether you use medical services or not.
  • Deductible: The amount of money you must pay for covered health services before your insurance plan begins to pay. For example, if your deductible is $1,000, you pay the first $1,000 of medical bills yourself.
  • Co-insurance: Your share of the costs of a covered health care service, calculated as a percentage. It applies after you’ve met your deductible. For example, with 20% co-insurance, you pay 20% of the bill and your insurance pays 80%.
  • Copayment (Copay): A fixed amount (e.g., $25) you pay for a covered service, like a doctor’s visit or prescription. Copays usually do not count toward your deductible.
  • Out-of-Pocket Maximum (OOP Max): The most you could possibly pay for covered medical services in a plan year. Once you hit this limit through deductible and co-insurance payments, your insurance company pays 100% of covered costs for the rest of the year.

Health Insurance Scenario

Use the Health Insurance Cost Calculator to set up the following baseline insurance plan. This will be your starting point for the quiz questions that follow.

Baseline Plan Details

  • Monthly Premium: $300
  • Annual Deductible: $1,500
  • Co-insurance: 20%
  • Out-of-Pocket Maximum: $6,000

Select the “Healthy Year” scenario, and observe the initial “Cost Breakdown” and the bar chart before you begin.