www.bpslawyers.com

Monday, November 28, 2011

Med Pay Coverage and You

If there was one piece of advice I could give to people before getting into their car and driving these holidays, it would be to contact their car insurance provider and ask about “med pay” coverage.
What is med pay? Med pay is short for medical payments and is optional coverage that can be added to your normal car insurance policy.  Med pay works similar to health insurance in situations when you are injured in a motor vehicle related accident.  Instead of giving your health insurance information to a hospital or a doctor following a car accident, you inform them that you have med pay available through your car insurance.  Med pay coverage varies, but it generally includes costs such as doctor visits, hospital visits and/or stays, surgery, x-rays, ambulance fees, nursing services and care and so on.  Med pay may cover all of these accident related expenses, regardless of who is at fault, and also may cover anyone driving your vehicle or riding as passenger within your vehicle.
If you do not have health care coverage, med pay can be a lifesaver.  For instance, med pay would pay your medical bills if you were injured while driving or riding in a car, or were injured by an automobile, such as in a hit and run situation while walking the street or riding your bike.  In these situations, med pay would work exactly like health insurance and may be your only resource to pay these bills.  Even if you have health insurance, med pay coverage is helpful, as you may be able to use med pay to cover the cost of any deductibles for your health insurance or co-pays for prescriptions.
Never heard of med pay?  One reason may be that it is a good deal for the customer and therefore insurance companies do not aggressively market this option.  For instance, at the lower levels of coverage, such as $1,000 or $5,000, med pay may only cost you a few dozen extra dollars.  Med pay coverage levels go far beyond $5,000, and most insurance companies offer med pay levels of $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, and sometimes even $100,000.  For a few extra dollars and a lot of peace of mind, consider taking advantage of med pay coverage.
Questions or comments? Contact Jared Cantor.