Medical Payments Coverage, more often known as MedPay, is an optional benefit offered by auto insurance companies to help pay for medical expenses that you or your passengers may sustain in an automobile accident. MedPay is a lesser-known insurance benefit than, say, liability coverage or uninsured motorist coverage, but it can provide significant benefits if you are involved in a car accident.
If you are injured in a car accident that is your fault, you won’t be able to be compensated by another driver for your medical bills. But if you have MedPay coverage on your auto policy, you can use it to pay medical bills—no matter who is at fault in an accident. And even when an accident is caused by someone else, you may have immediate medical bills that must be paid, and you won’t want to wait until the person who caused the accident (or more likely their insurer) agrees to settle your claim against them. You can use your MedPay coverage to seek treatment and pay those immediate medical bills.
Does it replace health insurance?
MedPay does not replace your health insurance, but you may ask why you can’t just use health insurance to pay for medical expenses after a car accident. Certainly, you can use your health insurance when you are injured in a car accident, but your health insurance likely has deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and other limitations that require you to pay money out of pocket. That amount may be significant. That’s where MedPay coverage can really help.
MedPay coverage can be a great way to supplement health insurance to help quickly pay significant out-of-pocket expenses that health insurance does not cover. Whether the MedPay coverage pays first or whether health insurance pays first—i.e., deciding which one is primary—depends on the state and the specific policy language in both the auto policy and the health insurance policy. Consumers should carefully read and understand their insurance policies.
MedPay coverage typically provides benefits to everyone who is in the car with you at the time of the collision. So, if your passengers are injured, your med pay coverage can be used to pay their medical bills.
MedPay can also protect you if you if you are riding as a passenger in another vehicle. MedPay can provide benefits if you are injured by a vehicle as a pedestrian. MedPay can help you if you are hit while riding a bicycle. MedPay can also provide benefits if you are injured when riding public transportation.
Things To Know About MedPay
- MedPay coverage applies regardless of fault
- MedPay supplements your health insurance and will pay for things your health insurance won’t
- Medpay will pay for your own injuries, passenger injuries, and injuries you sustain as a pedestrian or passenger in another vehicle
- MedPay is only for medical bills (and funeral costs); it will not pay for lost income or damage to vehicles
- MedPay is relatively inexpensive
- MedPay is optional coverage
Automobile insurance has many components that you should be aware of, especially when you are involved in an automobile accident. You should talk with your insurance agent and carefully read your policies to know what they say. And if you’ve been injured in a car accident, trucking accident, or if you’ve been hit while riding a bicycle or injured as a pedestrian, you should first make sure you get the medical treatment you need, and then call an experienced personal injury attorney.
Contact Whalen Injury Lawyers Today!
When you need a dedicated, sympathetic, and talented auto accident attorney who knows the ins and outs of insurance coverage, who has a proven track record of success, and who will fight for your best interests, contact Whalen Injury Lawyers today. We’re happy to offer you a free consultation with one of our personal injury lawyers to review the details of your case and discuss your legal options. You can reach us in Denver at (720) 307-2666 or in Colorado Springs at (719) 644-7000 to learn more.
