PA Auto Insurance: Medical Expense Benefit
Required minimum coverage under Pennsylvania law:
- $5,000
Our law firm’s recommended minimum coverage:
- $10,000
The Medical Expense Benefit on your insurance policy covers medical bills that result from any injuries you suffer in a car accident. It is important to remember that Pennsylvania is a "first-party benefits" state. This means your car insurance policy pays for medical treatment for any injuries you receive when you are in any type of motor vehicle accident. Only after the coverage on your auto insurance runs out does your health insurance take over paying your medical bills.
Although the coverage required under Pennsylvania law is $5,000, our experience shows that is an insufficient amount. It doesn’t take too long to reach $5,000 when you’re dealing with medical bills – especially when you consider the potential costs of hospital treatment, surgery, extensive physical therapy, rehabilitation, and other medical services. We recommend a minimum coverage of $10,000 or possibly even more, especially if you do not have other medical insurance.
If the only insurance you have for paying medical bills is your Medical Expense Benefit on your car insurance, you may be personally responsible to pay any bills that go over the limit of that coverage. This is why it is so important that you carry the right auto insurance coverages at the right levels of coverage that will protect you and cover any medical bills you may have.
Health insurance and medical bills from injuries in a car accident:
If you use up the limit of Medical Expense Benefit on your automobile insurance policy, you may be able to pass the cost of additional medical bills on to your own health insurance plan (e.g. Blue Cross/Blue Shield or an HMO). However, you should be aware that some health insurance plans may not cover certain treatments or may only pay a portion of your bills.
You should also know that your health insurance plan, or any other assistance program, may demand that you pay them back if you get money for your injuries.
Example:
You are injured in a car accident that you caused. The cost of the medical treatment for your injuries is $10,000. If you only have the minimum amount of Medical Expense Benefit required by Pennsylvania ( $5,000) and no other source of health insurance, you may be personally responsible for any bills that remain unpaid once the Medical Expense Benefit on your car insurance policy runs out.
If you were not at fault for your accident, once the required coverage of $5,000 runs out, your medical bills may not be paid unless and until your lawsuit against the person who caused the accident is settled. If you carry additional coverage on your automobile insurance policy, your medical bills will continue to be paid until you reach the limit of that coverage.
