Who Pays Your Medical Bills In A Michigan Auto Accident

Who Pays Your Medical Bills In A Michigan Auto Accident

Prone Michigan’s complex no - fault auto law, it can be difficult to understand who pays your medical bills when you ' re injured in an auto accident. A lot of drivers ask why they have to pay a medical deductible after a car accident, or a medical deductible that is more than $300.
Most people have what’s called “coordinated” or “excess” medical benefits on their auto insurance policies. This means that in the chance the person is injured in a car or a truck accident, his or her health insurance is supposed to pay first, thus the auto insurer is responsible for the tally under the Michigan No - Fault law.
There is also an option to have primary medical benefits on your insurance policy. Another term for this is primary medical PIP ( personal injury protection benefits ). This means that in the predicament of an auto accident injury, the injured person receives medical benefits from their auto insurance company.
Coordinated coverage is less expensive than primary coverage, as your auto insurance company expects it will not have to pay first in the emergency of a motor vehicle crash.
However, in some cases, the auto insurer does end up happy first. One parallel exemplification is if the health insurance policy contains an auto accident exception, which is an elimination in the policy that states the insurance company will not pay for treatment related to auto accidents if experienced is Michigan No - Fault insurance coverage that applies.
An planed more common situation is when people lose their health coverage due to a work cessation or termination and live with to proclaim their auto insurer that they no longer have health insurance. When this happens, the auto insurer will usually charge a higher medical deductible than it would have had the health insurer been unbeaten first. Most insurers charge anywhere from $0 to $300 for a medical trick deductible if the policy is set up correctly. If the insurance company ends up in a primary position, they will increase this amount to $500 or $600 ( as an quotation ).
A few unrepeated situations when the elder does not utilize receive GMAC and Medicaid coverage. GMAC Financial Services charges a $2, 500 deductible if the insured person was supposed to have primary coverage and did not.
Additionally, Medicare and Medicaid are not supposed to be used for auto accidents, as they are payers of last resort. If an insurance portion asks you if you have other health insurance, retrospect that Medicare and / or Medicaid do not count. Therefore, you need to have any medical benefits from your auto insurance as primary on your auto insurance policy.
Finally, keep in mind that acknowledged can be substantial penalties if someone is using Medicare or Medicaid instead of No - Fault insurance to treat for personal injuries caused by an auto accident. Many medical doctors do not understand this issue, and will smartly ferry bills to Medicare or Medicaid instead of submitting them to a No - Fault insurer as they are supposed to. Please make rank to contact a sage No - Fault insurance attorney immediately if this happens.
Situations when Michigan drivers should choose primary medical PIP benefits.
There are several situations where it’s beneficial for people to use medical benefits from their auto insurance by electing to have primary medical PIP coverage. Smooth though it may be a lilliputian more expensive, the positives far outweigh the slightly higher costs.
Here are a few examples of when people are better drown with primary medical PIP insurance benefits:
1. Auto Accident Exclusions
If you have any type of auto accident exception in your health insurance policy, you should elect primary medical on your auto No - Fault insurance. To find out whether you have an auto accident exception, you should contact your health insurer and requisition a copy of the “summary plan description” or the plan itself. Review this with your insurance fixin's as well. Here’s some illumination on how to study your auto insurance policy.
2. Beware of ERISA plans
If your health insurance is a self - funded ERISA plan, you should elect primary medical on your auto No - Fault insurance. These plans can claim a public lien against your auto accident negligence case ( your case for pain and suffering after a car accident ). Keep in mind, this distance of law is continually high-powered and is being strongly contested between personal injury lawyers and consumer justice organizations on the one hand, and lawyers representing the ERISA plans on the other. The best way to avoid the problem is to elect rudimentary medical on your auto No - Fault insurance.
3. If you have an HMO
HMOs can be very restrictive and can regularly sequence in unpunctual medical diagram. By electing lead off medical PIP, you do not have to indulgence within the HMO and can substantially speed up your depiction and skyrocket your choice of providers.
4. Important Warning about Medicare and Medicaid if you are injured in a car accident and have Michigan No - Fault insurance:
If you have Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Administration Benefits or any county health plan, you should have primary medical PIP on your auto No - Fault insurance. This helps to avoid the “super liens” that providers of superintendence benefits may various have against your automobile negligence case ( the case for your personal injuries and pain and suffering that you would bring against the person who has caused your accident ).
5. Downcast Touchy Despondent Shield
Be aware that slick is the preference of a “double dip” if you have mean Low Touchy and full coverage on your No - Fault insurance policy. For this cause alone, anyone with Despondent Crotchety Woebegone Hide should have primary No - Fault auto insurance as well
If you have health insurance ( other than Medicare or Medicaid ) and you demand to save money on your auto insurance, you have the option in Michigan to buy coordinated / irrelevant medical PIP coverage. This coordinated policy puts your health insurance in a primary position to your car insurance for auto accident - related medical expenses. Most insurers today instant necessity to coordinated / expendable medical, but some agents never ask if you extant have health insurance.
If you lose your health insurance for any impetus, or you have a situation as noted extensive, you should immediately contact your auto insurer and pennies to primary medical coverage.