How Does High Deductible Health Insurance Work? 
The deductible is just the amount you the insured are responsible to pay out of pocket . The actual insurance works the same assuming all things are equal on policy type . So for example one person may have a $ 1,000 deductible and another may have a $ 10,000 deductible . Let 's say both parties have medical bills that equal $ 50,000 . Assuming there is no co-pay the first party will pay their $ 1,000 deductible and the insurance company will be $ 49,000 and the second party will pay their $ 10,000 deductible and the insurance company will pay $ 40,000 . However the party with the $ 1,000 deductible will pay a higher monthly premium for the insurance due to carrying a lower deductible so you need to do the math and evaluate what you can handle . Many people will carry the higher deductible to carry a lower premium assuming they are in good health and will pay out of pocket for the small stuff . However if something catastrophic occurs their worst case is $ 10,000 . 