If you have health insurance, and were not at fault in the auto accident, then it makes sense to bill your health insurance. This is because most people do not carry health insurance just because they will be liable if they get into an accident. Most people carry health insurance because they might need medical treatment however, this may not always be the case. If you have health insurance, then it is possible that you can bill your auto insurance company for any medical expenses that you incur while getting treated due to the auto accident.
In this post, we find out: Can You Bill Health Insurance For Auto Accident, who gets the insurance check for my medical bills, who pays first auto insurance or health insurance, and health insurance car accident settlement.
Can You Bill Health Insurance For Auto Accident
The best way to make sure you are protected in the case of an auto accident is to have health insurance. This includes personal injury coverage and medical expenses. You may be wondering if you can bill your health insurance for an auto accident, especially if you were not at fault in the incident.
Whether you are in-network or out-of-network with your health insurance
Whether or not you are in-network with your health insurance has a lot to do with the type of auto accident. If you were in an auto accident involving another driver, who was also at fault, then it’s possible that the other driver’s insurance company can pay for your medical bills. This means that if you were involved in such an accident and had pre-existing injuries that got worse as a result of this particular incident, then it’s possible your insurer could reimburse you for those costs as well.
If however, there was no other driver involved in the collision (for example: if someone rear ended your car and caused damage), then it’s unlikely that any health care provider will be willing to help cover any associated costs because they have no way of getting paid by those responsible for causing said damage. In this case however there may still be hope…
You may still bill your health insurance for a personal injury
You may still bill your health insurance for a personal injury if you are in-network.
You may still bill your health insurance for a personal injury if you are out-of-network.
Auto Accident
An automobile accident is usually defined as an incident in which one or more vehicles are involved. The driver of a vehicle involved in an auto accident can be held responsible for any damages caused by their actions.
It’s important to know that you may still be able to claim coverage from your personal auto insurance policy even if another person was driving your car at the time of the auto accident. You may also have coverage under the uninsured/underinsured motorist endorsement (UM/UIM) if you were injured and it was not possible for you to seek medical attention within 30 days because of your injury.
However, there are a few things you should know first.
You can bill your insurance company for auto accident injuries. However, there are a few things you should know first:
- Call your insurance company to be sure that they cover the cost of medical treatment.
- Contact the hospital, doctor and auto repair shop where you received treatment for more information about what you will be billed for by them.
- If your health plan requires pre-authorization from its provider network before it will pay for emergency medical care or diagnostic tests like MRI’s and X-rays, contact an agent at HealthPartners as soon as possible so we can help facilitate this process on your behalf.
It depends on the kind of plan you have
It depends on the kind of plan you have.
If your health insurance is a PPO (preferred provider organization), you may be able to bill your health insurance for auto accident injuries. A PPO plan allows you to go outside of your network for treatment at a doctor or facility of your choice, and it also allows the physician to bill for the services provided. This means that if there’s an injury involved with being in an auto accident and seeing a doctor or going to physical therapy, these costs can typically be billed under this type of plan.
who gets the insurance check for my medical bills
If you are injured in a car accident that is not your fault in Colorado, the other driver (usually through his insurance company) is responsible for your medical bills. However, a settlement with the other driver’s insurance could take months, or even years, depending on how long your medical treatment takes. And most doctors and other health care providers want to get paid right away and if they don’t, they could send you to collections.
First Choice: Health Insurance
That’s where YOUR insurance steps in. If you have health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid, you should submit your medical bills to them. Even though the bill gets paid and discounted by health insurance, you are still entitled to collect the original undiscounted billed amount from the at-fault party and their insurance company. So although your health insurance benefits you by reducing the amount you owe, it does NOT benefit the at-fault driver by reducing the amount of compensation they owe to you.
Second Choice: Med Pay
If you have “Medical Payment” coverage (“Med Pay” for short) under your own Colorado car insurance policy, you can also use this to pay your medical bills. However, a better use of these benefits is to reimburse yourself for out-of-pocket costs that health insurance does not cover, such as co-pays or annual deductibles.
Third Choice: Liens
Liens are bills that are “on hold” and get paid out of the settlement money. Generally, if someone is willing to wait that long to get paid, they are not willing to offer a big discount off their bill. That means that more money has to come out of your settlement to pay for health care providers that have a “lien.” But sometimes this is the only option if you don’t have health insurance or Med Pay benefits.
Getting the Best Deal Requires Strategy and Coordination
The amount of a settlement you put in your pocket can be significantly affected by which bills you pay first, which bills you submit to health insurance or Med Pay, and which bills can wait until settlement. This involves strategy and careful negotiations with your car insurance company, health care providers, and health insurance companies.
Simple Example of How A Medical Bill Gets Taken Care of In a Personal Injury Case in Colorado:
John gets injured in an accident in Colorado caused by someone else.
John has a $1,000 medical bill that he submits to his health insurance company. Instead of owing $1,000, he only owes a $40 co-pay.
John has his own car insurance company reimburse him the $40 out of his “Med Pay” coverage (which does not effect his insurance rates).
John’s attorney collects the undiscounted amount ($1,000) from the at-fault driver as part of the settlement.
Instead of having to use $1,000 of his settlement money to pay this medical bill, John keeps it and walks away with more money in his pocket.
Be advised that sometimes the health insurance company has a right to be reimbursed from the settlement. Even this outcome is still much better than not using health insurance. For example…
Let’s say the health insurance paid $100 of the $1,000 bill and the rest was adjusted/written-off. So the health insurance company wants to be reimbursed the $100 they paid for this bill. That means that John has to use $100 of his settlement money to reimburse his health insurer (still much better than using $1,000 of his settlement money to pay the bill) OR he can use his Med Pay to pay $100 to his health insurer (even better because nothing comes out of his settlement money).