Medical payments insurance in arizona coverage (sometimes called medical expenses coverage) reimburses your medical expenses, covering you, your passengers, and any family members driving the vehicle involved in an accident. You get coverage regardless of who was at fault for the accident. If you or a family member got injured as a pedestrian, a bicyclist, or a passenger in someone else’s vehicle, you can also use medical payments insurance in arizona to cover this.
How medical payments insurance in Arizona Is Different from Health Insurance
Medical payments insurance in Arizona can be a good idea even though you already have health insurance because it can cover your copayments and deductibles. More importantly, it will cover your passengers, who generally are not covered by your health insurance unless they are family members listed on your plan.
Unlike many health insurance policies, medical payments insurance in Arizona has no copays. Even if you’ve exceeded the limits of your health insurance coverage, you will not lose coverage from your medical payments insurance in Arizona.
What Does medical payments insurance in Arizona Cover?
medical payments insurance in arizona covers the following:
- Doctor visits
- Emergency room visits
- Hospital stays
- Ambulance and EMT services
- Surgery
- X-Rays, lab tests, and other diagnostic services
- Home nursing care
- Wheel chairs and crutches
- Restorative dental care (if teeth were damaged in an accident)
- Prosthetic limbs
- Chiropractic care
medical payments insurance in arizona can also pay for funeral expenses that health insurance doesn’t cover.
In Arizona, the average cost of a funeral service and burial is about $4,100. The average cost of a cremation is $900, but it can run as high as $2,395. However, funeral expenses are only covered in case of accidents, not for deaths by non-covered illnesses or natural causes.
Do I Need Medical Payments Coverage?
You may not even be aware whether you have medical payments insurance in arizona, or how much you’re paying for it. Insurance agents may add this coverage to every vehicle insurance policy, earning a commission on it. If you are not sure, ask your insurance agent for an itemized breakdown of your coverage. Once you know whether you have this coverage and how much it costs, you can decide whether it’s a good idea to add or keep it.
Whether you would benefit from medical payments coverage depends on how high your deductibles and copayments are on your health insurance plan. If you, your family members, and your regular passengers already have good health insurance with a zero-to-low copayment and/or deductibles, the value of medical payments insurance in arizona is greatly reduced. You would need to do a cost-benefit analysis to see if it’s worth buying a medical payments policy.
If you already have medical coverage insurance and decide you don’t need it, deleting it from your policy may save you hundreds of dollars a year.
Myths About MedPay
1. It’s the other driver’s fault, so you shouldn’t use any of your insurance.
This is untrue. You should use the most readily available policy to take care of an unplanned emergency.
Typically, MedPay is used to pay medical bills. But you are permitted to use these funds for purposes other than paying medical bills.
If you have suffered a significant injury, it can take months to recuperate and settle with the at-fault driver’s insurance. The other driver will not pay any medical bills, lost income from time off work, or pain and suffering until all of your damages have been determined. Using MedPay can alleviate short-term financial issues for you.
2. Using this policy will increase my premiums.
False. The state of Arizona has laws in place to ensure insurance companies only raise your premiums if and when your risk as a driver increases.
If you caused an accident and were determined to be at fault, that raises your risk. As a result, your premium goes up. Otherwise, you can use your insurance with no risk of raising your premium.
3. My agent told me to use the other driver’s insurance first.
This is bad advice.
MedPay coverage and the other driver’s insurance have different responsibilities. Your MedPay will have a relatively low limit, and your insurer has to pay you immediately. In Arizona, you can use up to $5,000 of it before you have to pay your insurer back.
The at-fault driver’s policy only pays once all of your damages have been assessed. Given your treatment, that could take months and even years.
Medical Payments Coverage Limits
You must select a limit for your MedPay coverage. This limit determines the maximum amount your insurer will pay for each person involved in an accident.
Here are a few MedPay examples.
Example 1:
You are driving home to Chandler from your Phoenix office. While coming to a stop on the I-10 freeway in Phoenix, a driver rear-ends you. He was texting and driving. Being distracted, he completely failed to brake before hitting you. Your airbags go off. The EMT recommends hospital care for your sore back and wrist, which is painful to move.
When you go to St. Joseph’s hospital, the ER physician orders an MRI and CT scan. Your wrist is fractured, and you have damage to your spine. Your hospital is bill is $7,500. If you have medical payment coverage, the first $5,000 of this coverage can cover the hospital’s bill.
Example 2:
You’re driving in your lane when an out-of-control SUV runs you off the road. Your car looks fine, but your arm really hurts after it hit the steering wheel. Your wife, in the front passenger seat, hit her forehead on the side window. She now has an ugly lump and a bad headache.
It cost you $1,000 to have your arm x-rayed. Your wife’s doctor visit cost $750.
When you got your MedPay coverage, you had selected a $2,000-per-person limit. Since each of your expenses amounted to less than $2,000 per person, MedPay would cover all of your medical costs in this case.
Example 3:
Your daughter accidentally slams the car door on your hand. Fortunately, you selected medical payments coverage with a $1,000 limit.
Your total bill for an x-ray and cast came to $1,500. MedPay will cover $1,000 of the bill, and you will be responsible for the remaining $500.
Medical Payments Coverage Exceptions and Restrictions
To purchase medical payments coverage in Arizona, you must also select other coverage aside from liability insurance. However, there are restrictions and exceptions to MedPay:
Coverage for Multiple Vehicles:
MedPay limits must be the same for all vehicles on a multi-vehicle policy. In Arizona, if you select medical payments coverage on one vehicle, you must select the same coverage for all of your vehicles insured on the policy.
Vehicle Coverage Restriction:
MedPay is available only for regular cars and cannot be applied to trailers or similar attached equipment.
Workers’ Compensation Exception:
Medical payments coverage will not apply to a person who was injured at work. This is when workers’ compensation should apply.
Handling Medical Payments Claims
If you’ve been injured in an accident in the nearby Chandler area, Phoenix Accident and Injury Law Firm near you can help you seek compensation for your injuries.
Chances are, the party who caused your accident has liability insurance. In which case, we can handle the paperwork for your claim and try to negotiate a settlement with the insurance carrier. If negotiations don’t result in a fair settlement offer, we can handle your lawsuit.
If, for some reason, your medical payments insurance in arizona carrier isn’t honoring your claim, or is delaying payments, we can also help you fix that. When you’re ready to talk, please contact our office, conveniently located in your area to arrange a free initial consultation.
