Co-payment -

The co-payment is the amount you must pay for each service. In managed care plans, you do not need to know the full fee charged by a provider, as you will pay the same "co-pay" regardless of the providers fee.

This standardizes your costs, but also encourages insurance companies to refer you to lesser trained professionals who are paid a lower total fee, since this reduces their cost for the service, while your cost remains the same.