Use Your Health Insurance!

The basic question is this: If I am in an auto accident, do I use my health insurance to pay for treatment?

Here’s the answer:  Use your health insurance! In NC, and virtually all other “liability” states (states that don’t have n0-fault coverage) the victim’s health care costs are their own responsibility until the end, at which point you hope to get reimbursed for all of your losses – medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc. – from the liability carrier (or the at-fault driver personally, but that’s another story).

Auto liability insurance policies are not set up to pay your medical bills as they are incurred.  In other words, the bad guy’s liability policy DOES NOT take the place of your health insurance.  Your health insurance is the front line defense against medical costs, but the liability policy might be a safety net that helps you at the end.

But why is it so important to use health insurance if you’re going to get reimbursed at the end anyway? The biggest benefit of using health insurance is the contractual adjustment.  Your health insurance most likely doesn’t have to pay full cost for your bills.  They get some discount based on their contract with the provider, and that limits your responsibility.  This is part of what you’re paying for, so use it!

This becomes particularly important when rogue health care providers (*cough* Wake Med *cough) refuse or “forget” to bill your health insurance on the hopes that they’ll get paid their full bill by the liability carrier.  This is exploitative and shameful, though currently not illegal, per se.

But the other issue is that there is no guarantee that the liability carrier is going to pay you anything!  So it is foolish to not use your health insurance when you can.

That brings up the reasons why having an attorney to help you makes a ton of sense.  First, you might not know all of this unless you read knowledge-dropping, woke legal blogs like this one.  Second, even if you know it, you might fall prey to the facilities like Wake Med who try to rob you of your health insurance benefits.  Third, you might not know how to best play the insurance game and get all of your bills covered.  Finally, you’re hurt and likely not at your best at the moment, so why do you need more work and hassle?  Let me (or another attorney) handle it for you.

If any of this is confusing, call me and I’ll try to help.  919-929-2992