conversation: User (thefox13guy): "I've always been curious where there is both a deductible AND out of pocket max for health insurance. They are so similar that I would think someone would've just combined them into something halfway in between to simplify things.\n\nSo, can anyone tell me what the advantages are to the consumer or insurer to have two different but very similar limits?\n\nThanks!"
  Self: "The deductible is meant to discourage you from going to the doctor for non-serious stuff that might go away on its own (sick people tend to get better. This is called reversion to the mean). It is there to benefit the insurer and possibly keep overall healthcosts down. It does not benefit you. \n\nOOP Maximum is there to protect you from having your life ruined by medical expenses in the event you have a terrible disease that requires many surgeries, accidents that require the same etc. think about this: if you had a health plan that requires you paying 20% of costs and need a liver transplant and follow up care, costs could easily reach in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. 20% of half a million dollars is 100k which is a lot than most people make. The OOP Maximum is there to protect you from that. It does not benefit the insurer in any way"
  User (thefox13guy): "thanks, this is the info i was looking for."
  