What Is An Aggregate Deductible In Health Insurance? 
You have asked the question that confuses more consumers and insurance brokers than just about any other terminology in our industry . Usually this question comes up in the context of a high deductible health plan associated with a Health Savings Account -LRB- HSA -RRB- . There are two types of deductibles offered with these plans ; aggregate and embedded . An aggregate deductible plan requires that more than one deductible be met before the plan 's co-insurance and other coverage provisions come into effect . Usually two deductibles have to be met but you will want to check the exact policy language for the state you are purchasing coverage within . For example , you purchase an HSA plan with a $ 3000 aggregate deductible for you and your spouse and this plan has 100 % co-insurance after the aggregate deductible has been met . What this means in practical terms is that both of you will have to meet an `` aggregate '' total of $ 6000 in out-of-pocket expenses before you and your spouse are covered at 100 % . So , let 's say that spouse A has $ 3000 in medical expenses for an outpatient surgery while spouse B incurs no expenses at all that year and then spouse A has an additional $ 1000 in expenses for office visits and prescriptions . Even though spouse A had already had $ 3000 in covered expenses because the deductible exposure of spouse A and spouse B are `` aggregated '' together , the additional $ 1000 of expenses incurred by spouse A later in the year are charged against the aggregated deductible amount and remain an out-of-pocket expense . Under an embedded deductible arrangement with the same $ 3000 deductible followed by 100 % coverage , each spouse has a separate $ 3000 deductible exposure that once met places that particular spouse into their 100 % coverage zone . So , in the example used in the previous paragraph , spouse A would have met their deductible with the initial $ 3000 expense and their $ 1000 in subsequent expenses would have been covered at 100 % by the insurance company . Generally the premium difference between plans with an aggregate and an embedded deductible is not that significant , especially as deductibles get higher . For this reason , I rarely recommend an aggregate deductible plan design to my HSA clients . If you would like more information or a quote for a Health Savings Account based plan please feel free to contact me . 