Will the Other Driver’s Car Insurance Pay My Medical Bills After a Car Accident?

If the other driver caused the accident:

• … and you have health insurance, make sure the hospital bills your insurance company.
• … and you have medical insurance as part of your car insurance, then technically this should cover your medical expenses. We prefer to use your health insurance, however, so we recommend a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy—if the hospital does not ask about medical payments car insurance, you do not need to tell them.
• … and you do not have health insurance, then the at-fault driver’s car insurance will not pay your medical bills until the entire case is resolved. There is no “pay as you go” system with medical payments flowing from car accident injury cases.

Biggest Mistake You Could Make: The hospital you go to will probably tell you they plan to charge the other driver’s insurance company. Makes sense, right? No. The hospital will actually file a medical lien on your injury case so that any money from a settlement will go directly toward the bill. In other words, you will pay for it!

A huge number of clients have come to me after telling the emergency room to charge the other driver’s insurance. Remember: insurance does not work this way, and if you have health insurance, doing this will cost you a lot of money

Why will it cost me?

If you have health insurance, any treatment you receive is charged at a reduced rate. An MRI, for example, might cost $1,400 to people without insurance but only $400 to an insurance company. Of course, you will most likely need to contribute to your insurer’s cost, but even paying $300 of your settlement money for the MRI is better than sacrificing $1,400.

You have to keep one concept at the forefront of your mind. At the end of the day, it is about healing and getting better. If you skimp on your body and the medical care, it is only you at age 60 limping along; the insurance company won’t be there. Scrape, borrow and beg to get to the Doctor, it will pay dividends for your health down the road. As an aside keep in mind that the other driver’s insurance is grinning ear to ear if you cannot afford medical care and stay home for that reason.

Use your common sense and if it is a real injury, make sure you don’t shortchange your body.