Does Medicare Cover Car Accident Injuries?

If you are involved in an automobile accident, you may need immediate medical care and assistance. Anything from cuts, spinal injuries, broken bones, bleeding, and other injuries could require the need for immediate medical attention. When people get care sooner, the likelihood of speedy recovery and survival increases. If you are in an automobile accident and need care, it is highly likely that you will not wait to be settled up with your medical insurance company before receiving treatment.

People can look to use their health insurance to cover the cost of care, but people on Medicare need to know the ins and outs of coverage when it comes to auto crash injuries. Fortunately, both Medicare and Medicaid will pay for car accident injuries. That said, the insurance company will likely expect reimbursement, which means you may end up just turning around and writing a check to them after the accident. By researching what you need to know about these situations, you will have a better handle on the steps you need to take after you receive treatment.

Report Your Case to Medicare

Regardless of whether or not you decide to pursue a personal injury claim, you should report your accident to Medicare. Medicare requires that you reimburse them for any money they spent to treat your injuries. There are people who think that they can not report this and that Medicare will not know. The Medicare program will, however, take note of your medical treatment and see that it is for an injury due to an accident. If you do not report that the accident occurred, you can expect your Medicare provider to contact you and inquire. Lying to them in these situations could land you in trouble.

The best thing to do if you are injured in an automobile accident is to let your Medicare provider know. By staying in contact with a Medicare Coordinator of Benefits contractor, your case will be well monitored. If you have a personal injury attorney, they can take care of these communications for you, which can be a convenience. Being able to focus on healing and making a strong recovery is essential.

Paying Back Medicare

Your Medicare Coordinator of Benefits, also called a COB, will stay in touch with your attorney. Once you reach a settlement with the driver who was at fault for your accident, Medicare must be notified. From a legal perspective, your lawyer cannot provide any funds to you from the settlement without first providing this notification.

It is possible to negotiate how much money you will pay back to Medicare. That said, negotiation with the government is difficult. Medicare generally wants 100% reimbursement for everything it spent treating your auto crash injuries. You will receive an itemized list of all of the expenses you are expected to reimburse from your COB contractor. There is an internal appeals process for people who do not want to pay that amount and have applicable reasons. If you, as an example, receive treatment that is unrelated to your accident, and it is listed, you should appeal.

Medicare Liens And The Appeals Process

Your lawyer cannot provide you with your settlement until you reach an agreement with Medicare. Essentially, Medicare has a lien over your settlement until you pay back the amount of medical care that was paid for by them. Due to this, having an attorney who is experienced and knowledgeable in these types of cases will be a help. Not only that, but you may be able to access your settlement faster if your lawyer can speed up the process. If you decide to appeal, your lawyers will be able to help with that as well.

If you have questions about any of these things or would like assistance further, contact Pro Care PT.