Whether you can use your personal health insurance to pay for medical bills from a car accident really depends on the circumstances and your health insurance language. Ideally, you want to charge all medical expenses to the at-fault party’s auto insurance policy.
If for some reason your claim isn’t moving through the car insurance company quickly or the car insurance company denies your claim, you might be able to charge your expenses to your health insurance company and then the health insurance company will go through a process called subrogation to get their money back from the at-fault party’s car insurance company.
We’ll explain common medical bill fees and what you can expect from getting a health insurance company to cover these expenses.
Co-pays & Deductibles
Even if you put your medical care through your personal health insurance, you’ll still face co-pays and deductibles, which can be rather pricey.
Before a doctor will see you, they’ll request that you pay your co-pay. And even after you pay your co-pay, you might be on the hook for the full bill for your medical visit due to having a high deductible health plan.
If you leave the car accident scene in an ambulance, don’t be surprised when you get a bill for several thousand dollars for that ambulance ride. That’s because your local municipality doesn’t know about your medical insurance. Along with the bill will be information about how to submit your health insurance information so they can bill the ambulance ride accordingly.
What if Your Health Insurance Company Denies Your Bills?
If your health insurance company denies your bills related to a car accident, you can file a claim with your personal auto insurance company. Just like the health insurance company can put the bills through subrogation, so can your auto insurance provider.
While this process of billing one insurance company and allowing them to seek repayment from another company can make for a complicated process, it helps ensure you get the care you need when you need it without harming your savings accounts or putting you into debt for injuries you sustained through no fault of your own.
Before spending your savings on medical care, contact your car insurance company to learn what options you might have in getting your bills covered while you work on a lawsuit against the at-fault driver or contest the insurance company’s denial of your claim.
Why You Should Keep All Receipts No Matter Who Is Paying Your Medical Bills
Regardless of what insurance company you bill the expenses to or how you pay for them yourself, you should keep all documentation and receipts. If you decide to file a lawsuit against the person who caused the car accident, proving the total expense of your medical bills could be a factor in determining a fair settlement amount.
Car accident victims facing medical bills who are unsure of how to get reimbursement for these expenses should reach out to Stewart & Stewart. We’ll provide a free case review to evaluate the best course of action for minimizing the impact on your personal finances.