WHAT IS MED PAY CAR INSURANCE COVERAGE?
Med Pay car insurance covers your medical expenses that you or your passengers incur for the injuries you sustain as the result of an automobile collision, whether you are at fault or not.
Med Pay is not a required coverage in the State of Connecticut. You can purchase it for a small additional premium in differing amounts of coverage. The typical Med Pay coverage is $5,000.00 per person, per accident. Additional amounts can be purchased for additional premiums usually in increments of $5,000.00 usually up to $25,000.00 in coverage. Med Pay will usually cover ambulance bills, while health insurance generally will not.
WHAT MED PAY IS NOT
Med Pay coverage is not a replacement for your health insurance. Health insurance will pay for accident related injuries as well as other treatment that is not accident related. Med Pay only pays for medical bills for accident related injuries. However, for people without health insurance, it is a wise purchase.
WHO PAYS FIRST
Connecticut law requires that Med Pay is the primary insurance coverage for your accident related medical expenses. Once the limit of the Med Pay coverage is exhausted, your health insurance will take over the payment of your accident related medical expenses.
It is important to note that Med Pay coverage will only pay for medical bills incurred within one year of the date of the collision.
HOW DOES IT WORK
Med Pay is not like health insurance. You don’t hand an insurance card at the check-in desk at the doctor’s office or hospital and ask them to direct bill.
Instead, one of two things will occur. If you go to the hospital, you will be billed at a later date, and you can forward those bills to your insurance company for payment.
If you go to a doctor’s office that requires payment up front, then you will have to pay and then submit a request for reimbursement from your auto insurance company. In some instances your doctor’s office will directly bill the med pay insurer if you provide them with the contact information for them to do so.