Need help understanding health care terms?

Ok so as always I decided to wait last minute to select my health care options for 2010 at work. Health insurance is so hard for me to understand. I do not visit the doctors office a lot for example i haven't gone this year. Last year I went for my yearly checkup to both my physician who had lab work done and the OBGYN for the yearly pap smear. After that i got several invoices in the mail 1 was for the lab work about 200, one for the OBGYN visit which was for 79 and then my physician is now charging me 240? I paid him $80 in the office already and all he did was take a blood sample so why is that worth an additional $240? They are telling me because it's part of the yearly deductable and that's what I DON'T understand, what is that? and if I have to pay for it then why are they taking out $88 a month from my paycheck. What I want is what i use to have before when i was covered with my mom which was, you can go to a doctor that took the insurance and it was FREE for the physician to see you, is that what an HMO is? If not what are some terms I should look at when I am making my selection to know what a doctor office visit will cost me out of pocket.