What would NOT be considered cost-sharing?

Cost-sharing refers to the portion of healthcare costs that the insured has to pay out of pocket for services covered by their health insurance plan. This typically includes deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance.

Insurance premiums, however, are not classified as cost-sharing. Premiums are the regular payments made to the insurance company to maintain coverage, regardless of whether the insured uses any healthcare services or not.

In contrast, deductibles represent the amount that must be paid before the insurance starts covering the costs, co-payments are fixed amounts paid for specific services or medications at the time of service, and co-insurance is the percentage of costs the insured pays after meeting their deductible. Therefore, while the first three options all involve costs directly associated with receiving care, the premium is a distinct cost unrelated to specific services utilized.