Unless you are in the health sector, you will bump into different terms that you will most likely not understand what they mean. Again, you can also be in the health sector but that doesn’t guarantee that you will be familiar with every medical term.
Taking about healthcare, insurance is a key aspect that can’t be ignored. Even in the health insurance sector, several terms are worth understanding. For instance, what does CYD mean? Luckily, we will uncover what the term means and why it is worth knowing it in detail to help you in your healthcare insurance journey. Moreover, we will also shed light on other key topics such as ad deductibles and how they work. Take a look!
What is CYD in Health Insurance
CYD is the abbreviation for Calendar year deductible. In simple terms, CYD refers to the amount of money that you must spare from your income or other sources to cover your medical expenses before the health insurance you have taken can start contributing towards the costs.
The CYD runs from January to December, every day and that’s where it drew its name. To help you understand it better, let’s take an example where you have a healthcare insurance plan of $5,000.
The $5,000 is now your CYD and you must spend it on your medical care and it resets to $0 every January 1st.
Should You Care About Health Insurance Deductibles?
You are probably wondering whether these deductibles on your health insurance matter, right? Here’s the thing, these deductibles directly impact your annual healthcare expenses. Ideally, if you are on a healthcare plan with high deductibles, it implies that you have lower premiums but you have room to take on more upfront medical costs.
However, someone with lower deductibles has higher premiums only that their insurances come in earlier than the one with lower premiums. With this understanding, it becomes easier for you to calculate what your yearly costs are. That way, you will have more control over your finances, and will guide you against choosing a deductible that will prove difficult to meet.
More Insights on CYD in Healthcare Insurance
We’ve already shared that a CYD is the dollar amount that you as the insured must pay before your healthcare insurer contributes towards your medical service costs. It is worth noting that the CYD applies to all the services that are subject to deductible.
Such services include x-rays, lab tests, hospitalizations, doctor visits, etc. Again, note that the CYD runs from January 1st to December 31st. Moreover, it resets to $0 every January 1st. Again, the CYD must be paid by your many and it can extend to your family members if you have a multi-person healthcare insurance plan.
What’s the Bottom Line?
Your CYD is what determines when your healthcare insurance will start contributing towards your medical costs. Therefore, in setting the CYD to use, ensure you keep it realistic and only go for that which you feel will be easy to meet.
