Medical Bills and Car Wrecks, who pays for it
Sorting out your medical bills after you have been in an accident can be quite troublesome especially when there is more than one party involved in the crash. Health insurance companies usually do no provide coverage. However, some will. Health insurance companies will not give you the funds to fulfil hospital bills. Although these are the ground rules, they generally do differ based on whether it is a “no fault” state or not. And, whether there was only one person involved or multiple parties.
Fault States
Firstly, to determine who covers health insurance, it is important to understand what no-fault states are. So basically, if you have an accident in a no fault state even if the other party is at fault he/she will not be required to pay the medical bills. The only damage they are supposed to pay is for the lawsuit and that at times does include medical expenses.
Moving on, in these states the automobile insurer pays some of your medical bills while the remaining will be paid off by your health insurer. This happens when the car insurers have previously set a limit to the amount they will be paying. In case you are not part of any of these health insurance programs you have to work out the payment with your health care providers.
No Fault State
In a no fault state the person is usually responsible for paying his medical bills through auto insurance. The only exception to this is if the driver is part of a health insurance payment coverage. However, these also have some limits to the amount of money they give which is usually $10,000. Any amount above this has to be paid by the person themselves. This usually works in most of the states where the health insurance company pays in the end.
And, if no other insurer is paying or if the individual has no other insurance except health insurance. The first payments have to be made by the auto policy which pays until the limit they have promised earlier. At times health insurer might ask for subrogation, this is when the medical insurance company pays earlier and wants a reimbursement from the auto insurance company.
Types of auto insurance coverage
There are numerous types of car insurance coverage, and each applies in different situations. The extent to which they deal with injuries differs. Some of these are:
- Personal injury protection coverage: it has a very low limit. It usually pays for the injuries an individual gets in an accident. If the injuries are minor the doctor’s fees might also get paid.
- Bodily injury liability: this is usually when your insurance pays for the damages you cause to another person, for example, an individual gets hurt in an accident which is your fault. There is a limit to which the insurance company will pay for which the individual has to bear the expenses.
- Medical payments coverage: this is like personal injury protection but has a greater limit and covers more costs. This is very common in no-fault states where they cannot claim the third party
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist: this is when a person is involved in an accident, and the person who is at fault has no insurance or his insurance covers little Your insurance company can decide to pay for these expenditures especially if the injuries are very severe and you cannot cover these on your own. This situation is not very common since most people in the states have some kind of insurance.
Health insurance and auto accidents
Like mentioned above, and a universal rule, insurance companies will only pay if there is no one else to pay for the expenses. Even when you go to visit a doctor after your car accident, they will ask you to fill out a form which asks for all information regarding your insurance, and they work behind the scenes to ask the relevant insurance companies for money. If the injured party is not at fault, these insurance companies work to make sure that the related party bears some expense however they cannot be sure always. Find a doctor after a car accident now.
Medical claims are usually very complex. If the number of insurance companies involved is significant, it just makes the process more confusing. When this happens, people prefer getting an attorney on board who can help them sort out these issues and assist them to understand the whole process in detail. Also, make sure to see a doctor after you have been involved in a car accident.