An out-of-pocket maximum is the most you will pay in a given year for covered health expenses before your insurance covers 100% of remaining eligible costs. It includes deductibles, co-insurance, and co-payments you have paid during the benefit period. Once you reach the out-of-pocket maximum, the insurer pays 100% of further eligible expenses for the remainder of the year. Out-of-pocket maximums are a consumer protection that caps your annual financial risk. They are more common in US-style health plans and in some Canadian provincial drug programs (such as BC Fair PharmaCare's family maximum) than in traditional Canadian private health insurance, where annual maximums on what the insurer pays are more typical. Some newer Canadian plan designs are beginning to incorporate out-of-pocket maximums.