MED PAY — THREE REASONS THIS COVERAGE CAN SAVE YOUR SANITY AND CREDIT SCORE

1) Pays your medical bills no matter who is at fault

2) Pays all co-pays from the accident if you have health insurance;

3) Pays medical bills without referral from an accident even if your health insurance does not

or you do not have health insurance.

Medical payments coverage, often referred to in the industry as MedPay, is a coverage that pays for medical or funeral expenses that occur as a result of an auto accident. Generally, it is an option that is available when you purchase your auto insurance policy or can be added later. This coverage covers the person who purchased the policy called the policyholder, any passengers and family members driving or riding in the vehicle at the time of an accident. As will be outlined below, this policy can sometimes extend to cover injuries you sustained outside of the car. A very important point of this coverage is that it applies no matter who is at fault for the accident.

In this blog about medical payments coverage, hereinafter referred to as MedPay, I will discuss what MedPay covers, how it works, how it can work with your health insurance and the cost of such coverage.

What medical bills will MedPay cover?

When you or a loved one, a friend or family member is in your vehicle and involved in an accident, injuries can occur. MedPay coverage covers all of these people regardless of who’s at fault for the accident. Medical payments will pay medical bills that are directly incurred by you, a passenger, or a family member in the car at the time of the accident.  Such expenses can include, but are not limited to, x-rays, surgery bills, hospital bills, doctor visits, ambulance, emergency medical fees, professional nursing services and care, any dental procedures that were required as a result of the accident, injuries that you sustain if you were a pedestrian or you were riding your bike if another vehicle hits you, prostheses and even funeral expenses.

It is important to realize that MedPay coverage covers  the policyholder even if he/she is outside the vehicle but involved in an automobile involved accident. For example if you were walking and you are hit by a car, or you are riding in a friends vehicle, or even if you are riding on a public bus, your MedPay coverage will pay medical bills up to the limit if you are injured during one of these activities. MedPay also applies if you are involved in an auto related accident outside your state.

 HOW MedPay COVERAGE APPLIES TO YOUR  INJURIES

MedPay can work in any way that is best suited for your situation. As counsel for injured people, we maximize our client’s benefits and make sure that their bills are covered to the best available coverages in every situation. For example if our client has health insurance, we will reserve MedPay claims until all co-pays have been received to make sure that co-pays are promptly paid on behalf of our clients so that bills do not go to collections. If you are involved in an accident and you have MedPay coverage, it is always extremely important to work closely with your attorney to make sure that all bills are timely sent to counsel’s office. At the Law Office of Laura Payne-Hunt, we work diligently to maximize our client’s benefits. It is noteworthy that  our primary area of practice is in the State of Nevada and no-fault states are different. If you live in a no-fault state, it is important to check with your agent to determine whether health insurance would be considered primary or medical payments coverage primary.

MedPay coverage in Nevada will pay your bills immediately. They will not ask for a referral or a discount but they will pay your actual bills incurred up to the limit of your medical payments coverage. Often times people assume that the at fault driver will timely pay all their bills. Unfortunately, the adverse insurance company will not pay any bills directly. They will only pay to resolve the entire claim when your injuries and treatment have concluded. There may be a substantial period of time where you have outstanding bills that need to be paid before they go to collections.

Sometimes the limits on MedPay coverage is low, for example $2,000.00 to $5,000.00. It is important to maximize benefits in an auto accident. At the Law Offices of Laura Payne-Hunt, Esq. we have 20 years’ experience in making sure that our clients recover the maximum amount of money in their pocket and all of their bills or timely paid.

HEALTH INSURANCE VERSUS MED PAY

Over my years in the practice, I have had clients tell me that their agent advised them they did not need MedPay coverage if they have health insurance. Unfortunately, I believe this was bad advice on behalf of their agents. Health insurance does not always pay your medical bills related to a car accident and they are entitled to be indemnified out of your settlement. However, even if health insurance does “cover” your bills, health insurance, as we all know, often will not cover certain events or there can be very large co-pays for out of network or “unauthorized” treatment. Med pay is a coverage that covers this gap. MedPay coverage can offset those expenses and pay those co-pays while your health insurance picks up the remaining balance. MedPay can reimburse you timely for those deductibles so that you do not have to worry about getting behind on bills as the result of  expenses related to an auto accident.

PREMIUMS FOR MEDICAL PAYMENTS COVERAGE ON MY AUTO INSURANCE

MedPay is a coverage that allows policyholders to specifically choose a limit a.k.a. a maximum dollar amount that will be paid by your policy for your medical bills. It is generally not a very expensive coverage and can provide extraordinary peace of mind and financial security in the event of an automobile collision. Like anything else, there will be a slight increase in your rates for obtaining medical payments coverage. It is also important to note that it is a coverage you can put on your policy at any time. Call  your agent or your carrier to discuss the cost of adding this coverage.  Value Penguin did research regarding the costs.  Below are their finding of some examples of the additional cost added to a premium for  a 30-year-old married person driving a Toyota Camry:

*Notes: Progressive limits are per person, and not per incident

The most common coverage limits for Med pay  are $1,000, $2,000, $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000 across the five companies we surveyed. GEICO offered more limit options on the lower end of the range, from $500, and then in $1,000 increments from $1,000 to $5,000. State Farm offered more limits on the higher end, including medical payments up to $50,000 and $100,000.”

 https://www.valuepenguin.com/medical-payments-car-insurance-coverage

As you can see, certain carriers can provide $25,000 in med pay for a very small monthly fee. Even having a couple thousand dollars in medical payments coverage can be a lifesaver when the ambulance is not covered by your insurance or you have a $500 hospital co-pay and a $500 ambulance co-pay and you are already missing time from work.  The cost will always differ depending on the amount that you opt to buy, the overall underlying policy that you have, your driving record, your insurance carrier, and other factors that impact your overall rates such as driving history.

NOTE FOR DRIVERS IN NO-FAULT STATES

 In no-fault states,  Personal Injury Protection (PIP), is a mandatory coverage and MedPay works different in those states.  As of this writing, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland (unless a waiver is signed at initial purchase of the policy), Massachusetts, Michigan,  Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Utah.  Several states require insurance companies to offer PIP coverage, but allow the insured to reject it in writing which include Washington and Texas.  Michigan is the only no-fault auto insurance state with no limit on medical expenses.  In states with PIP, drivers may still want to buy medical payments coverage because PIP is subject to claim limits. If a you live in a PIP state and your medical bill exceeds your PIP limit, you would have to pay for the out-of-pocket, which MedPay  could pay.  In that situation, you could recover for therapy and lost income  under PIP, and get reimbursement from MedPay  for other medical expenses.

If you or a loved one is injured call our office immediately.  We can make sure that you receive the care you need and deserve, and advise on how to preserve evidence and maximize all of your coverages.  If you have been in any type of accident and have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our offices today.  At my office, we are experienced in helping injured victims get the compensation they are entitled to.  Insurance companies never have the best interest of the injured person at the top of their priorities.  They want to pay as little on every claim as possible.  Having worked for an insurance company as an attorney for 9 years before opening my boutique law firm specializing in helping injured people, I reviewed thousands of auto accident claims and policy provisions.

At the Law Offices of Laura Payne Hunt we are here to help you and your family in the event that accidents and tragedies occur. For any of your legal needs, do not hesitate to contact our offices.  The Law Offices of Laura Payne-Hunt is a boutique, family owned law firm in Henderson that specializes in helping injured people and the community with legal issues involving auto accidents, wrongful deaths, slip and falls, truck accidents, injuries to children, bicycle accidents, dog bites, and all types of injury claims.  Please do not hesitate to call us anytime you have a legal question or you or a loved one has sustained an injury at 702-450-(HUNT) 4868 and text 24/7 at 702-600-0032.

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