Who Pays for Medical Care after a Car Accident? Auto Insurance or Health Insurance?
Posted By Darrigo & Diaz
If you are injured in a car crash, you can use both policies to pay for medical care, but your car insurance will be primary. When you seek medical attention following a car accident, your PIP coverage (Personal Injury Protection) will pay 80% of your medical bills until it is exhausted; you are still responsible for the remaining 20%. Florida No-Fault benefits (PIP) cover up to $10,000 per person/per accident regardless of who is at fault in the accident.
With new legislation in place regarding health coverage, most of us should have some sort of health insurance plan by now. Here we provide you with valuable information that will show you how to optimize your coverage by using all of your available policies, auto and health.
If your PIP benefits are exhausted but you still need of additional medical care, you could use your health insurance policy to continue paying for treatment. Many of our clients express their concern about the accumulating medical bills and the possibility of being sent to collections while their case is ongoing. Using a health insurance policy consecutively to PIP benefits helps keep medical bills under control and collection agencies away. One more benefit from using health insurance to pay for medical care related to a car accident is the adjustment of medical bills to reasonable amounts that are pre-established in contractual agreements between the health insurance carrier and the medical provider.
There are a few facts you must also keep in mind since the standard rules of your health insurance policy will continue to apply. For example, your treating physician has to be within the appropriate network and copayments will have to be paid accordingly. Finally, you must know that once your case settles, your health insurance will request reimbursement of the payments they made related to your injuries. By law, you are required to pay back your health insurance carrier if you obtained sufficient settlement funds.
However, depending on the type of health plan you have, an experienced attorney might be able to reduce and even waive this lien upon conclusion of your case. The key of dealing with this issue is to have an experienced legal team on your side that will fight for your rights and do everything possible to maximize your settlement.
At Darrigo & Diaz, Attorneys at Law, we have skilled personnel that specializes in lien negotiations. Our work does not end when we settle your case; we go the extra mile with every one of our clients to make sure the keep the most from their settlement funds.
If you have been injured in a car accident, you need a skilled and experienced team of attorneys and paralegals that will guide you through the process successfully. Call us at 813-877-5548 for a free evaluation of your case. We will be honored to represent you.