Car Accident In Colorado

Some of my clients have asked me if they should use their medical payments coverage on their own insurance policy when injured in a car accident or car crash. My answer is always yes, of course.

Medical payments coverage in Greeley and Loveland Colorado

In Colorado, you are not legally required to purchase medical payments coverage when you purchase an automobile insurance policy. You must sign a waiver in Colorado, waiving your right to purchase med pay coverage. So, if your agent did not get you to sign a waiver, by mistake, then you will automatically get med pay coverage even though you verbally declined it. That is the law in Colorado.

Medical Payments coverage is more commonly referred to as “med pay”. Med pay in Colorado is not obligatory, but I highly recommend that everyone in Greeley, Loveland and Fort Collins purchase med pay coverage every time they get auto insurance or renew their auto insurance. In fact, if you are reading this and do not have med pay coverage, please call your insurance agent immediately and purchase med pay coverage.

Med pay coverage is cheap and it can often save you thousands of dollars in medical bills when injured in a car wreck. For example, let’s say tomorrow you are driving down I-25 near Loveland and traffic comes to an abrupt stop (which happens quite frequently nowadays) and a car comes crashing into the rear of your vehicle. If you are injured and do not have med pay coverage, then you either will have to pay all cash for your subsequent medical bills or you will have to use your health insurance coverage. I will get into the health insurance coverage issues below.

If you are transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital, that will cost you at least $1,200.00. Then the emergency room charges, X-rays or other scans will add up to another few thousand dollars. Then, you will most likely need follow up treatment, surgery, physical therapy and/or chiropractic treatment. If you have med pay coverage, then you can use your med pay to pay 100% of your medical bills.

Like I said before, med pay coverage is cheap but not all insurance agents even bring up the topic so you have to educate yourself on why you should have med pay. Most people who have med pay coverage on their auto insurance policies carry $5,000 in med pay. Thus, your first $5,000 in medical bills will automatically be paid by your own car insurance company. In current times and with increasing inflation, medical costs have gone through the roof. I recommend that everyone purchase at least $10,000 in med pay coverage. You have the choice of how much med pay coverage you wish to purchase depending on how much money you want to spend on this additional coverage. You can choose anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000. But please get it!

If you are transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital, that will cost you at least $1,200.00. Then the emergency room charges, X-rays or other scans will add up to another few thousand dollars. Then, you will most likely need follow up treatment, surgery, physical therapy and/or chiropractic treatment. If you have med pay coverage, then you can use your med pay to pay 100% of your medical bills. Like I said before, med pay coverage is cheap but not all insurance agents even bring up the topic so you have to educate yourself on why you should have med pay. Most people who have med pay coverage on their auto insurance policies carry $5,000 in med pay. Thus, your first $5,000 in medical bills will automatically be paid by your own car insurance company. In current times and with increasing inflation, medical costs have gone through the roof. I recommend that everyone purchase at least $10,000 in med pay coverage. You have the choice of how much med pay coverage you wish to purchase depending on how much money you want to spend on this additional coverage. You can choose anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000. But please get it!!!

Can I use my health insurance coverage if involved in a car accident in Colorado?

If you have health insurance or Medicaid/Medicare at the time of your car accident, then you can certainly use that as well. As your attorney, I will advise you on how to coordinate payments between your med pay coverage and health insurance coverage as it can be tricky. Usually, I advise to use your health insurance first as they will have a “lien” on any settlement money you get from the at-fault driver’s insurance company.

For example, let’s say you have some relatively minor soft-tissue injuries and your case is settled for $20,000. Any money that your health insurance company pays out for your medical treatment related to your car accident will be sought back from your health insurance company. In other words, they have a lien on your settlement money. Your attorney or myself will have to deal with this lien when your case is sett000led and you get your money. Typically, I like to use the med pay coverage that you purchased to satisfy or partially satisfy this health insurance company lien.

Let’s say I recovered $20,000 for you in a settlement with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. You had $7,000 in medical bills which your health insurance company paid. Thus, their lien on your settlement money is $7,000. I can ask your own auto insurance company to use your $5,000 in med pay to pay off this lien. Therefore, in this example, you would only owe the health insurance company $2,000. Oftentimes I can negotiate the health insurance lien downwards. So, if the lien is $7,000, I will ask them to accept $4,000 for example.

If you do not have health insurance, then you would have to use your med pay coverage to pay your medical bills. Let’s say you have $5,000 in med pay coverage and your medical bills are $8,000. Your med pay would take care of $5,000 so you would be left with a balance owed of $3,000. I would need to pay that $3,000 out of your settlement money. Oftentimes, I can also negotiate your medical bills downwards. Everything in life is negotiable!