What does "out-of-pocket" mean?

What does "out-of-pocket" mean?

Out of pocket is what you really end up paying when you have a condition or illness or accident. When all things are done, after you've looked at your whole expense for a broken leg, and you look at the doctor's fees, the surgeon's fees, the medications you had to take for the pain, all the doctor visits for the Xrays - when you add it all up, let's say it's 10,000 15,000 20,000 dollars, your maximum out of pocket may only be 4,000 dollars. That's what you're going to write a check for, either to the doctor or the hospital. That's your out of pocket. The insurance company has paid the rest.