system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How does basic health insurance work? 

Can someone please elaborate on what a "deductible" and "premium" are as well?
gpt
The basics of health insurance (or any form of insurance for that matter) is to create a large pool of people to spread risk around. You're not sick today, but you might get sick next month. You pay into a pool every month and only pull money out when you need it. The healthy pay for the sick with the assumption that they will get benefits when they themselves become sick.

The **premium** is the price you pay every month to be part of the pool. However, when you do need health care, most insurance plans don't cover 100% of the cost. Usually the first bit of the cost has to be paid by you and the remaining gets picked up by the insurance company. That initial amount is called the **deductible**.

For example, let's say you need a surgery and it costs $10,000. Your deductible is $500. You have to pay the doctor $500 out of your own pocket and the insurance company pays $9,500.