It always amazes me when patients don’t have med pay. What are they thinking? More importantly, why don’t insurance agents who sold them their auto policy offer them ALL coverage benefits? Isn’t it in their best interest to try and SELL people all that they can? In this case med pay is so critical to a persons well-being in the event of an accident. So many providers don’t take liens and if you don’t have health insurance for the provider you need to see (assuming it’s not an HMO, that adds a whole other level of complication), you are potentially OUT OF LUCK. In case someone reading this doesn’t know what med-pay is, I’ll explain.
It is a benefit of your own auto insurance policy that covers your medical costs in the event of an auto accident. Even when someone else is at fault, you still use your med pay. It’s like having an instant credit card for your medical bills. It pays right away, it’s taken by all and you can use it anywhere you need to go. If you weren’t at fault, the responsible parties insurance will negotiate with your insurance at the end of the case to reimburse them. It is your golden ticket to healthcare if you require help and, it’s cheap! For example, I have State Farm and have $5k med-pay, it costs me about $30 or so a YEAR. That is insurance completely worth the price AND, it covers up to 8 passengers in my vehicle (so $5k EACH) in the event of an accident. As I write this and reflecting on healthcare costs these days, I will probably be increasing this from $5k – that hardly covers an ambulance ride, hospital x-rays and other diagnostic tests. I would caution you on getting a really high limit policy, such as $100k since the care must still be medically necessary and insurance companies will typically cut you off unless you show dire need at a max of about $20k. Also, be aware of other integrated policies that are called EXCESS med pay as they require you to bill (and max) your own health insurance prior to it kicking in. Bottom line, med pay is absolutely necessary especially when a good portion of Americans are uninsured. Take your health and it’s future into your own hands, make sure you have med pay and tell your family, friends and patients about it too! You’ll be doing them a big favor. Just to be clear, NO, I am not an insurance agent just a concerned medical biller who see’s the headaches created for patients who don’t know how to get the care they desperately need after an accident.