How to pay medical bills after an accident

How to pay medical bills after an accident

If you were injured in a car accident, you may be getting medical bills in the mail. You’re probably wondering how to pay medical bills after an accident. Car crash victims are often surprised to know that in most cases, the insurance for the driver of the car who hit will not pay your bills until your case settles. Check out this video to find out how to pay your bills so they don’t go to collections and affect your credit.

Hi, Barry Zlotowicz with the LawFull channel. I am a Chicago personal injury lawyer. First, I want to point out a common misperception people have. The auto insurance for the driver of the vehicle that hit you will NOT pay for your medical bills until your case settles. Now this does not apply in all states especially no-fault states. But this is the general rule in most states in this country.

Here are a few of the ways you can get your bills paid:

First, no fault insurance: if you live in a state with no fault insurance, you can get some or all of your medical bills paid regardless of fault. I put a link below to the states that have no-fault insurance.

The second way is by using your MedPay Insurance. Medpay or medical payments coverage, is a clause within many auto insurance policies. It is optional coverage in my state of Illinois so not everyone has it. You will usually contract with your auto insurance company for them to pay the first $2,500, $5,000 or $10,000 of your medical bills, regardless of fault.

I’ve read a lot online that people don’t recommend purchasing medpay. I disagree completely. For the few dollars a month medpay costs, it is a valuable thing to have if you get in an accident.

Many people cannot afford to pay their deductible or co-pays which are so high these days. Medpay can cover that for you. If you don’t have health insurance at all, medpay is an option for getting your medical bills paid, again, regardless of fault. Finally, unlike health insurance which might pay 80% of a medical bill leaving you with the balance, medpay will pay 100% of the bill.

The second way to pay your medical bills is by using your health insurance: I always tell my clients when they get any kind of medical treatment, tell your medical provider to bill your health insurance. There are many advantages to using your health insurance to pay your medical bills, the main one being is that your health insurance company such as Aetna or Blue Cross Blue Shield, will likely have contracted rates with your medical provider. As such, Aetna will only have to pay their contracted rate for a bill rather than the whole rate.

A couple things about using your health insurance. your health insurance company is probably going to want to be reimbursed for the money they put out on your behalf. But you will only have to reimburse them what they paid rather than the whole bill.

You’re not totally off the hook. If you use your health insurance you may still have co-pays and a deductible to pay. Still, using your health insurance to pay your medical bills after an accident is the best way to keep your medical costs down and get your bills paid.

Another way to pay your medical bills is by using a medical lien. Liens provide an interesting wrinkle to the issue of who pays the medical bills after an auto accident. A lien in this context basically means that your medical provider will hold off billing you for their services until after you recover for your damages.

Hospitals often file liens shortly after treating a patient so that they are assured of getting reimbursed for their services. Once they get paid by the health insurance company they will release their lien.

Other providers may voluntarily enter into a lien agreement with you such as a chiropractor or physical therapist.

Another option for paying your medical bills is to pay them up front with cash. This is seldom used of course, but it is an option to ensure your bills get paid. You will get reimbursed for your expense when your case resolves but since you don’t have a contract with the provider like your health insurance does, you won’t get a discounted rate. Although you can try to negotiate with your provider.

Finally you can use auto insurance to pay for your bills. First, the insurance for the party that caused your injuries will ultimately pay for your medical expenses through your settlement or verdict. But as I said before they won’t pay for the bills up front.

One thing to know is that when you settle with the insurance company, whether it’s the defendant’s insurance company or if you use your uninsured motorist coverage, the money you get offered includes your medical bills.

Thanks for checking out this video. Please subscribe to my channel and feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or comments. If I can’t help you, I’ll find someone who can.

Barry Zlotowicz
Chicago Legal Group
Or

[Ascension-wgbj]

MedPay is helpful for noncovered care like Prolo and PRP. PRP helped me avoid a c1 fusion. I settled my own provider liens and most were noncompliant with the statutes. I think very few providers follow the lien statutes. The extortion that I experienced with the liens was eye opening. Several just refused to answer me and I was forced to serve them a 90 notice to reply or the lien funds get released. Two providers waited me out the 90 days and both had their funds released to me. I'm in Arizona. I'll never take out care on a lien again. BTW: Amica offers $100, 000 MedPay option. I now have my vehicle fitted with front and rear cameras and carry $1M in UIM/UM. You know that I learned my lesson the hard way. I'm now doing videos on FB to help educate others about our system. I'm listening to your videos and sharing them on my FB. Thank you very much.

[murdacapitall]

This guy is in it for him!! He barely answer questions unless you contact him or hire him

[alkarim]

I was rear ended in very minor damage car accident two months ago but I’m still in pain in shoulder blades along with upper back pain. I’ve been going to physical therapy witch I’m lucky to find one that accepted to take my health care insurance since I was told when I first call to get my first appointment that my health care insurance policy refused the claim treatment since it’s related an automobile accident. Now I’ve had about 10 physical therapy sessions witch the other driver insurance only agreed to pay for six and they’re saying the other four sessions are on me to pay!! I haven’t settled the case yet because of this issue. Any help is highly appreciate. Thank you very much. By the way this is in the state of Virginia.

[majocacayas]

Hi! I'm very confused with my father's case. He was a cyclist hit by a car and suffered fractured bone lower leg. Had a surgery to fix and medical bills up almost 200k. They live in Concord California with sister. My dad doesn't have medical insurance. They hired a lawyer but my sister is so confused with the medical bills. She just told me that my dad might get only less than 5k dollars. We have no idea. My dad unable to work due to injury and wondering how much he could get from settlement. He is still recovering from surgery. I live in Canada and I have no idea about US law about accident. Some idea and advise would be highly appreciated. Thank you!

[archiemegel]

Great vidoe,

Sir i got rear ended
And the young lady that rear ended me her car insurance offered me $2, 000, i tokd her to hold off ill get back to her, i thrn called my insurance and put in a claim,
My question is can i take that $2, 000 offer frim the ladys unsurance
Plus get paid from my insuance ?

[TamNguyen-joty]

Hi, Thank you for this informative video. I am a college student and I did not have any knowledge regarding this matter. I was in a collision and get hit in rear-end. I felt chest pain so I went to the hospital. After a month now, they send me a lien of $1, 500, which isn’t too bad. So am I the one who responsible to pay this amount? Or do I wait for the insurance to contact me? Please help me in this matter!
Thank you so much!

[cristinajimenez]

Hi, my boyfriend was hit by a car while he was riding his motorcycle and had to under 9 surgeries. Is it possible to get more than the drive max insurance coverage?

[sthomer]

We were rear-ended and received an ambulance bill how do I go about making the other driver pay for my ambulance bill it was her fault

[gmichaelprice]

Question. A friend picked up a truck for me and fell asleep at the wheel and totaled the truck. I did not have med pay, so is my insurance company liable or not liable to pay the hospital bills?

[alexmaldonado]

I was in accident and went to the doctor to get checked out and used my health insurance. Now I have my settlement, but how do I reimburse my health insurance or do I have to at all?

[mickeynoir]

Hi, I was in a car accident about 3 months ago and have a medical bill of about $28, 000. My insurance (Medical) paid for $10, 000 which leaves me with a bill of 18, 000. Now the car insurance said they would pay $5, 000 towards medical and that is the best they are willing to do. I have yet to hear anything from the at-fault drivers insurance. The insurance I'm going through is not my own. The car I was In was not mine either. I was on a trip with my friends and it's their insurance I'm going through. My friend driving at the time was not at fault for the accident. The medical bill is more the I would make in a year so I can not afford to pay it. My question is should i get an attorney or wait til I hear from the at-fault drivers insurance?

[sector]

Wait, the last accident I was in here in FL where I was not at fault, the hospital bills were paid through my health insurance which was a form of Medicaid, and my lawyer said that doing that basically screwed up everything and he had to pass my case on to a different lawyer which intern added about an extra year to getting the case resolved, totaling a little over 2 years. My lawyer said I should not have had my hospital bills paid through my health insurance. So I'm confused why you advise the opposite 🤔.

[stanleywalker]

My Pip covered all my bills. Do I need to tell the at fault insurance company that?

[sherrodhenderson]

With about Medicaid in a car accident well that cover all ur medical bills?

[ThimbrelT]

I have settled a claim for an auto accident with an insurance company, my medical insurance don't pay for my for my treatment and suffering, why does
The insurance company still have to check with my medical insurance, before they issu my check.

[sherrodhenderson]

Hey what percentage can a person attorney negotiate medical bills after a car?

[coachrjx]

I was rear ended at a red light a week ago and had to go to the er to get check out for my back I only had my car for 6 days my car total is 16k. This my first time and need help

[marcellfitness]

If a at fault driver hits me and their insurance company agrees to pay for the medical expenses for x amount does it get direct deposit to me my account I mean does the total they say they are going to pay gets paid to me

[cesarluna]

Can they charge you $19, 999 dollars for a anesthesia that lasted less than one hour