What it means
If your plan has a $2,000 deductible, you generally pay the full negotiated price for covered care until your spending reaches $2,000. After that, you pay a copay or coinsurance and the plan pays the rest.
Some plans have a separate deductible for prescriptions, and some cover certain drugs or preventive services before the deductible. Your summary of benefits spells this out.
Deductibles reset at the start of each plan year, often January 1. That means a brand-name GLP-1 can cost much more in the first months of the year than later, a pattern people sometimes call a January price shock.
High-deductible plans pair with a health savings account, which lets you set aside pre-tax money for these costs. Medicare drug plans also have deductibles, capped by federal rules that change each year.
Why it matters
A deductible can make the first few GLP-1 fills of the year cost hundreds of dollars more than later fills.