Recap: Part I
Previously, I discussed that hospitals may seek payment for treatment provided to individuals who have been injured in car collisions from the responsible party’s insurance company directly. The reason they don’t get to do that if you have health insurance is that the other driver’s automobile insurance is not in a contractual relationship with your insurance, they represent the interests of the other driver. Because of that a hospital cannot be communicating with the other driver’s insurance about amounts owed for medical care without receiving permission from the injured party first. If the hospital shared that information without a medical release, it would be a violation of your privacy rights under HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
Hospital Lien
First, you should know that Colorado does have a law/statute that allows a hospital to establish a lien which can be recorded and thus become public to the other driver’s insurer (requiring resolution of the lien from proceeds paid to the injured party, ie, settlement). However, Colorado law also says that a hospital cannot file the “hospital lien” when it has been informed that there is health insurance available protecting the injured person and any such lien, if it were filed, would be invalid and unenforceable.
Only Give the Hospital Your Health Insurance
So what should you do if you are injured by someone else in a car collision and the hospital wants information concerning the other driver’s insurance? You give them your health insurance information and decline to provide any information of the other driver’s auto insurance. They have no right to interact with the other driver’s insurance and you should not allow yourself to be bullied into believing otherwise.
Medical Payments Coverage
Caveat: The hospital may ask if you have medical payments coverage in your automobile policy (most people have $5,000, the minimum). The medical payment statute specifically recognizes the right of emergency rooms services to have first priority for access to those monies, so keep that in mind. If possible you should just give them your health insurance for receiving payment. This will allow for the use of that medical payments policy to assist you with repayment of your health insurer (called subrogation) or for copays/deductibles until the medical payments policy is exhausted (side note: It’s good to have more than $5,000 in coverage because medical payments coverage is inexpensive, but it shouldn’t be a replacement for health insurance).
It Can Get Complex, So Give Us a Call
As you can see, this aspect of handling personal injury cases can be complex to navigate. If you are feeling overwhelmed give us a call. We don’t charge for initial consultations and are happy to help with understanding the process. As I regularly tell folks, I’ve found that clients who are informed and understand what is going on have a much easier time with this process. That, in turn, reduces stress which, in my opinion, aids my clients in the healing process to make the best recovery possible, which really is the ultimate goal. After all, I have yet to meet a person who would trade money for their health.