In-network: Health care providers have an agreement with your insurance company to perform services at a set rate. Your in-network doctor is your PCP (preferred care provider), whose services are covered partially by your insurance company. An allowable charge is an approved dollar amount that your health insurance will reimburse your provider based on a certain medical expense. If you choose to an in-network service, your coinsurance will be based on the allowable charges, not the billed amount.

Out-network: An out of network provider is any provider that doesn't have a contract with your insurance company. In this case, your insurance company will either pay very little or not at all for service. If you choose an out-of-network provider, you will need to pay the amount that would have been the contractual write-off in addition to any copayments or coinsurance you may owe the provider.