Who is going to pay your medical expenses and when? In Georgia, insurance companies offer a product called “medical payments coverage.” This coverage is optional and you must request it. You can purchase it in $ 5,000.00, 10,000.00 or any other amount that you like. It is wise to purchase at least enough medical payments coverage to satisfy any deductibles on your health insurance policy.
- What is medical payments coverage?
Medical Payments coverage is insurance that covers your medical expenses up to the amount that you chose when you purchased the policy regardless of who is at fault in the collision. It will only pay reasonable and necessary expenses and usually only if the bills are submitted within a certain period of time as described by the policy. - Do I have to pay my insurance company back for medical expenses paid under medical payments coverage if I recover from the wrongdoer’s insurance company?
There are circumstances when you would have to reimburse for payments made under the medical payments coverage provisions of your policy. It depends on several things, including whether the policy contains a provision for reimbursement, whether you have been “made whole” by what you received from the other insurance company, and whether you and your insurance company comply with Georgia laws regarding notice. It is a complicated issue and if your medical expenses are substantial, you need to seek legal advice regarding how best to protect yourself from reimbursement provisions in your policy. - Warning:
Some insurance companies will send your bills out to be evaluated for an “independent medical review” in an attempt to deny coverage of some of your medical expenses. Be prepared to be firm when this happens as many of the reviewers are not independent and may work indirectly or directly for the insurer.