After a Car Crash, Beware of Medical Liens
Did You Know That You May Have To Pay Your Health Insurance Back For Auto Collision Injuries?
If you have to use your health insurance to pay medical bills that were due to a car crash, you may be in for a shock. Almost every health insurance policy in Oregon has a clause in it that you are probably not aware of. The clause is usually written in mind-numbing legalese, but the meaning is something like this:
“If you are hurt in a car crash, and you get money for that accident from the person who hit you, then you will have to pay us back for all the medical care that we paid for because of that accident.”
With all the premiums you have been paying for your health insurance, you would think they would have to pay for your medical care when you have been injured. As it turns out, that payment is often just a loan. And as if that weren’t bad enough, it seems that some insurers are “recovering” payment that they didn’t even make!
We at Shulman DuBois LLC believe that this is a shameful situation that should be corrected. Nonetheless, this is allowed in Oregon. Almost all health insurance policies have this clause written in the contract that you signed when you bought your health insurance policy.
You need to be aware that if you are in an accident and your health insurance pays $20,000 for your medical care for your accident, and then later you get $50,000 from the insurance company of the person who hit you, your health insurance company is going to want their $20,000 back.
The first step in minimizing the pain from this unfair situation is to use PIP to pay as many medical bills as possible. PIP is better than health insurance for many reasons.
A good lawyer can often negotiate with your health insurance company and get them to reduce that amount, so that they collect maybe $15,000 or $12,000 or some number less than the full amount they paid. But you are going to have to pay them back, and if you do not negotiate hard, you are going to have to pay them back every penny.
Sad and unfair, but true.
Shulman DuBois LLC is a personal injury law firm located in Portland, Oregon, and serves clients in all Oregon cities and counties, including: Portland, Beaverton, Multnomah County, Hillsboro, Gresham, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Tualatin, Troutdale, Sellwood, Corvallis, Salem, Eugene, Milwaukie, and Albany.
