You must know these 4 reasons why you should give the hospital and your doctors ALL of your insurance information immediately after your accident:
1. You may get more money.
The more bills that your car or health insurance pay after you are injured in an accident, the less money you will owe the hospital and doctors. When someone is at fault and causes you to be injured in an accident, the negligent party’s insurance company will hopefully settle with you before a lawsuit (and sometimes after suit is filed). The insurance company that insures person/company that is at fault will generally send you 1 settlement check.
You are responsible for paying any doctor or hospital bills that you owe from the settlement money. The less you owe to the hospital or doctor, the more money you will have after you pay those bills from the settlement.
You may also be required to pay back the following companies/institutions if applicable: your auto insurance company, your health insurance company, Medicaid, Medicare, VA, Tricare, Medicare Supplemental Insurance, etc.). Because these companies have contracts with the hospital or your doctors, they pay the hospital or doctor less than you would if you did not have insurance. If you have any of the insurances mentioned above, then the hospital or doctor has to reduce your bills because of the contract.
The amount that you will have to pay back the above companies/institutions (for the bills that they paid) will be much less than the amount that you would have to pay if you did not have insurance.
2. Time may expire.
The above insurance companies have time limits within which they must receive your medical bill or they don’t have to pay it. If the hospital or doctor doesn’t have ALL of your insurance information, they can’t bill the car or health insurance company. If they don’t bill the car or health insurance company within the time allowed by contract, your car or health insurance company does not have to pay your bill and you will owe the doctor or hospital the full amount which will be much more than had your insurance company paid the doctor or hospital.
Unfortunately, I have seen many injured accident victims fail to give the hospital or their doctors ALL of their insurance information and the injury victim is stuck with the bill. If you do not give the hospital or your doctors ALL of your insurance information, they may not bill the right insurance company.
3. Hospitals/Doctors may be lazy.
Do NOT assume that because you have not received a bill you owe nothing. It is your job to contact the hospital and/or doctor and provide them with EVERY insurance that you have that you think may pay your bills. I suggest that you call and send them the information in writing and you make sure that you receive written confirmation that they received it.
If your car or health insurance company received a bill from the hospital or a doctor, your auto or health insurance company will send you an explanation of benefits. The explanation of benefits shows whether the insurance company paid the bill and the amount that you may owe to the hospital or doctor.
4. You may be able to settle faster.
Before you settle your case, you may want to know how much you will get after all costs and expenses are paid. If you provide ALL of your insurance information to the hospital and all of your doctors at the time you treat with them (or immediately thereafter), you will know the amount that your insurances have paid.
You should have a good idea of the most that you will owe all of your medical providers. This will help you decide whether the insurance company’s offer is fair. It will also give you peace of mind knowing that your settlement was fair or good.
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