The "insured price" contributes to your annual out-of-pocket maximum. Care providers want insured patients to hit their cap as soon as possible so that the pati

The "insured price" contributes to your annual out-of-pocket maximum. Care providers want insured patients to hit their cap as soon as possible so that the patients' marginal cost of care drops to zero. Once this happens, they can get patients to keep getting expensive treatments "for free" while the care providers can continue to bill insurance companies whatever they can get away with.