Who pays my medical bills?
If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, then your automobile insurance company is responsible for paying your medical bills, even if you have health insurance coverage. See What are “No-Fault” Benefits? for further information. If you were injured in any other type of accident then your health insurance company will most likely be required to pay your bills – even in your injury was someone else’s fault. In those circumstances, your health insurance company will likely have a right to obtain reimbursement out of any compensation or recovery you may receive from the person who caused your injury. If you do not have health insurance, you may be able to qualify for state medical benefits – even if you are employed. For more information, check out the Minnesota Department of Human Services at www.dhs.state.mn.us. You may be entitled to other medical benefits. For a complete description of what medical benefits may be available to you, please contact our law firm.
Most Oregon auto insurance policies have Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, no-fault healthcare coverage that covers your accident related medical expenses for up to one year or $15,000. Unfortunately, insurance companies do not like to pay these bills and will often times send you to an “independent” medical exam, where you are evaluated by a doctor who works for companies that mainly do exams for insurance companies. These doctors almost always say what the insurance companies want them to say, regardless of what your treating doctor says. If your treating doctor believes the treatment is related to the accident, I can almost always get the insurance company to pay the medical expenses, and I do not charge my clients for helping get their medical bills paid.
Doctors, hospitals and other licensed medical providers are paid for their services based upon a fee schedule that changes annually. What you need to know is that injured workers are never required to pay a co-pay or any other fee for medical care related to the work injury. Instead, your doctors and other providers must submit their bills to the insurance company for payment.
