The biggest concern of most of my clients is how their medical bills will be paid in case of an accident or on the job injury.
In the past, this was not the case. There was a day when most of us had health insurance and access to medical treatment following an in jury event. Nowadays, more often than not, people do not have health insurance or access to health care. Yet, even in the cases where my clients have health care, we find a deductible that is so large as to render using the health insurance too expensive.
If you are one of the few to have good health insurance without an insurmountable deductible, then you can use this insurance to cover your treatment cost. However, this may have some drawbacks.
Time and time again I see clients in need of care and their health insurance denies it. Or I see a doctor ask for a certain course of treatment and the insurance company authorizes only a small portion of what the doctor requests. This leaves my client not returning to his or her pre-injury status as quickly and efficienly as possible.
In addition to health insurance, medical bills can be paid through the medical payments coverage on your auto insurance policy (assuming injury occurred due to a traffic collision). You can review your declaration page of your policy to see if and how much medpay coverage you have.
It is important to get this coverage as it may be one of the only ways to get the care you need in the event of a collision. One nice thing about medpay is you do not have to get an insurance company’s approval before getting treatment. All you have to do is make sure the treatment received is reasonably related to injuries sustained is the collision and that the cost is reasonable.
Another way to get treatment is to see a doctor who will treat you on a lien. This means the doctor will treat you now and accept payment after the claim resolves. There are some very good doctors who will treat on a lien, provided they meet with your attorney and understand the case.
You may, depending on your circumstances, receive care through Medicare, Medi-Cal, County Medical Services, etc.
This is only a brief overview of how to get your medical bills paid in the event of a traffic collision. There is much more to this landscape than can be put into a general post.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact my office and arrange for a free consultation to discuss your situation in more detail.
Also, free of charge, you can set up an appointment to meet with me and I will review your auto insurance policy and make suggestions as to what coverages you need to protect yourself and your family, loved ones and friends in the event of a collision.