What is an aggregate deductible in an HDHP?

What is an aggregate deductible in an HDHP?

• A. The individual pays all costs until their own deductible is met.
• B. The family pays all costs until an individual deductible is met.
• C. The family pays all costs until the entire family deductible is met.
• D. The deductible resets monthly.

Answer: (C)

In an HDHP with an aggregate deductible, the family shares a single deductible that must be met before any coverage applies to the family as a whole. All eligible expenses from any family member count toward that single family deductible, and the plan doesn’t start paying for services until the total meets the family deductible amount. After hitting that threshold, the plan begins to share costs, typically with coinsurance. This matches the idea that the family pays all costs until the entire family deductible is met. The other scenarios describe either an individual deductible (per person) or an embedded approach (coverage can start for an individual before the family total is met), and deductibles don’t reset monthly—they reset annually.

In an HDHP with an aggregate deductible, the family shares a single deductible that must be met before any coverage applies to the family as a whole. All eligible expenses from any family member count toward that single family deductible, and the plan doesn’t start paying for services until the total meets the family deductible amount. After hitting that threshold, the plan begins to share costs, typically with coinsurance.

This matches the idea that the family pays all costs until the entire family deductible is met. The other scenarios describe either an individual deductible (per person) or an embedded approach (coverage can start for an individual before the family total is met), and deductibles don’t reset monthly—they reset annually.