{"id":352968,"date":"2016-04-04T10:46:31","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/injury\/accident-injury-law\/protecting-a-settlement-from-your-health-insurance-provider.html"},"modified":"2023-11-03T00:29:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T05:29:26","slug":"protecting-a-settlement-from-your-health-insurance-provider","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/injury\/accident-injury-law\/protecting-a-settlement-from-your-health-insurance-provider.html","title":{"rendered":"Protecting a Settlement From Your Health Insurance Provider"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Protecting a Settlement From Your Health Insurance Provider<\/h1>\n\n
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\n By FindLaw Staff<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Katrina Wilson, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n

Settling a personal injury claim can bring relief after an accident. However, a health insurance company or hospital may try to collect part of this money to reimburse its expenses related to the claim.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Once you reach a settlement figure with an insurance company or lawsuit defendant, you may want to breathe a sigh of relief. Yet, your case might not be closed quite yet.<\/p>\n

You may still owe a portion of this settlement to a hospital or your insurer for any care or money you received in the meantime. It’s wise to understand when a company could claim some of your compensation when you’re considering a settlement offer. You may also want to review the billing practices to avoid losing an unfair portion of your settlement.<\/p>\n

The following summarizes best practices for protecting a settlement from your medical and health insurance provider. Speak with an accident lawyer or personal injury attorney<\/a> if you have specific questions about your claim.<\/p>\n

Can My Health Insurance Company Take Part of My Settlement?<\/h2>\n

Your health insurance company often has a right to take part of your injury settlement to recover some of what it paid for your medical care. It depends on the terms of your health insurance policy. This practice is called subrogation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The theory behind subrogation is that you should not have your medical bills paid twice, once by your health insurer and once by a settlement or judgment in an accident liability case. So, you would have to reimburse your insurer for part of their medical expenses.<\/p>\n

Why Should I Have To Protect my Settlement?<\/h2>\n

It’s a fair question. Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) have forced deep discounts on hospitals and clinics. They are also reluctant to pay many accident-related claims.<\/p>\n

So, medical care providers try to scrape for every penny. Some hospitals claim a portion of their patients’ liability settlements to recover what patients owe them. But some reach further than that.<\/p>\n

Your health insurance company is also interested in reimbursement for what it paid for your health care from your settlement. That keeps you from benefiting by having your medical bills paid twice \u2014 once from insurance and once from your settlement.<\/p>\n

How Do Health Care Providers Overreach?<\/h2>\n

The basics of medical treatment insurance payments are simple. A\u00a0health insurance company<\/a>\u00a0will contract with a hospital to pay a certain percentage or fixed amount for each charge.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n