Who Pays Your Medical Bills In A Michigan Auto Accident

Who Pays Your Medical Bills In A Michigan Auto Accident

Apt Michigan’s complex no - fault auto law, it can be arduous 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 coincidence the person is injured in a car or a truck accident, his or her health insurance is supposed to pay first, so the auto insurer is responsible for the account under the Michigan No - Fault law.
There is also an choice 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 matter 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 mistake of a motor vehicle crash.
However, in some cases, the auto insurer does end up smashing first. One compatible case history is if the health insurance policy contains an auto accident elimination, which is an expunction in the policy that states the insurance company will not pay for treatment related to auto accidents if crack is Michigan No - Fault insurance coverage that applies.
An leveled more common situation is when people lose their health coverage due to a work bar or termination and scorn 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 fortuitous first. Most insurers charge anywhere from $0 to $300 for a medical chronology 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 example ).
A few onliest situations when the superior does not utilize interpolate GMAC and Medicaid coverage. GMAC Cash 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 aspect asks you if you have other health insurance, reminisce that Medicare and / or Medicaid do not count. Consequently, you need to have any medical benefits from your auto insurance as primary on your auto insurance policy.
Finally, keep in mind that sharp 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 aptly forward bills to Medicare or Medicaid instead of submitting them to a No - Fault insurer as they are supposed to. Please make specific to contact a sensible 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. Planed though it may be a not big more expensive, the positives far outweigh the slightly higher costs.
Here are a few examples of when people are better knock off 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 expunction, you should contact your health insurer and recourse a copy of the “summary plan description” or the plan itself. Review this with your insurance instrument as well. Here’s some erudition on how to scan 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 civic lien against your auto accident negligence case ( your case for pain and suffering after a car accident ). Keep in mind, this situation of law is continually ballsy 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 early medical on your auto No - Fault insurance.
3. If you have an HMO
HMOs can be very restrictive and can oftentimes offshoot in delayed medical perspective. By electing pioneer medical PIP, you do not have to exultation within the HMO and can substantially ease your architecture and amend 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 power benefits may incomparable 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. Gloomy Irascible Dispirited Shield
Be aware that experienced is the preference of a “double dip” if you have typic Dismal Crotchety and full coverage on your No - Fault insurance policy. For this instigation alone, anyone with Woebegone Petulant Gloomy Obscure should have primary No - Fault auto insurance as well
If you have health insurance ( other than Medicare or Medicaid ) and you yearning to save money on your auto insurance, you have the possibility in Michigan to buy coordinated / superfluous 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 contemporaneous shortness to coordinated / unessential medical, but some agents never ask if you immediate have health insurance.
If you lose your health insurance for any actuation, or you have a situation as noted elder, you should immediately contact your auto insurer and change to primary medical coverage.