DOES MY CAR INSURANCE POLICY PROVIDE ME HEALTH INSURANCE?
The answer is a resounding maybe. A little known and underutilized car insurance option is called Medical Payments coverage or Medpay coverage. Medpay coverage on your car insurance policy provides you money to pay any doctor or hospital bill you incur because you were injured in a car wreck. The great thing about Medpay coverage is that it will cover your medical expenses related to a car wreck no matter if the car wreck was your fault or not.
Another positive aspect about Medpay coverage is it is relatively cheap. The prices obviously differ depending on the driver and the car insurance company, but for example, I have $50,000.00 worth of Medpay coverage and it only costs me $162.00 a year. In today’s society, when more and more people do not have health insurance, Medpay coverage can at least give you piece of mind that if you are in a car wreck, you can afford to treat your injuries and not have to worry so much about the cost.
I often hear the question, why would I want to spend extra on Medpay coverage when I already have health insurance? First I say Medpay has no copay. It is common for people to have at least $20 copays with every medical visit they have. Similarly, it is also usual for a person involved in a car wreck to attend a medical provider such as a hospital, doctor or physical therapist at least ten times following a relatively minor wreck. With those visits you are already spending more on copays than Medpay coverage would cost you. Second, there is no deductible with Medpay. Often times the amount of treatment required for a minor car wreck will fall under a person’s deductible, meaning that all the treatment will come out-of-pocket. The final reason I give has to do with reimbursement. This is a topic unto itself which I will save for another post, but suffice it to say, reimbursement issues with Medpay coverage are far easier to deal with than standard health insurance.
I encourage everyone to speak with their car insurance agent about Medpay coverage. I suggest $10,000 as a minimum amount of coverage. Hopefully you will never have to use your Medpay coverage, but if you are hurt in a car wreck, having Medpay coverage gives you one less worry, in a time when one less worry means a great deal.
Tagged with: car accident, Car Insurance, Car wreck, copay, deductible, Emergency Room, Health Insurance, Medical Payments Coverage, Medpay Coverage, physical therapy
Posted in: Automobile Wrecks