Why Do I Have a Health Lien/Medpay Lien?

There are several reasons that liens exist from medical bills for  treatment after your auto accident.  Because Personal Injury Protection (PIP) pays at the most 80% of any accident-related treatment, most people want their own health insurance to pay the balance so that the hospital or provider does not continue billing the balance each month, and ultimately send the balance to collections if left unpaid until your case is settled.  (Bills are not paid by the at-fault insurance company, but at the end of your case after you agree to a settlement). 

Consequently, the contract between your health insurer and you states that they have a right to be reimbursed, or a right of subrogation, if you are ‘injured by a defendant and recover money damages against that defendant(or at-fault party). Medicaid and Medicare may also create a lien to obtain reimbursement under the federal and state statutes.

MedPay Liens are less common, because the MedPay coverage is an optional coverage that is offered by insurance carriers, but many policies do not carry this coverage.  The intention was that it picked up the remaining 20% of the outstanding bill that PIP did not cover.  Additionally, once PIP exhausts at the $10,000 statutory limit, MedPay often begins to pay at 100%, versus the 20% per the most common policy language. Even though PIP is a ‘no-fault’ coverage, and as such, is not subrogatable, MedPay is not, therefore insurance carriers have the right of reimbursement from the at-fault party, just as any health insurer can.

In a personal injury case, there can be many hands out for a piece of the ‘at-fault’s’ policy limits.  Our goal is to make sure that your liens are settled successfully with your final settlement.  We will often successfully negotiate the amount of health and MedPay liens down so that our client can recover as much as possible from the available bodily injury or uninsured motorist policy limits.

Contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm in North Central Florida

If you need legal assistance, contact the Ocala car personal injury at Allen Law Firm at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation today.

We have two convenient locations in North Central Florida:

Allen Law Firm, P.A. – Gainesville office
2550 SW 76th St #150
Gainesville, FL 32608
(877) 255-3652

Allen Law Firm, P.A. – Ocala Office
112 S Pine Ave
Ocala, FL 34471
(352) 351-3258