Do you want to get the maximum settlement from a car accident?
There are Colorado laws in place to help injured people get fully compensated. One of those laws is called the Collateral Source Doctrine which states that if a collateral source (namely your health insurance company) reduces a billing then the person who caused the accident does not get to benefit from your health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid reduction.
However, if you signed a release from the other side’s insurance company or send your medical bills to them without redacting the “paid amount” the other side’s insurance company will pay you the smaller amount. This is contrary to the Collateral Source doctrine which says you need to be paid for the billed amount, not the paid amount. The rate was discounted because you have health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid and when you settle this case the other side’s insurance company will not be paying you back for the years of health insurance premiums that you have paid out to get this discount. Thus they are not entitled to see the discounted rate. This is why you should only send a bill that shows the billed amount.
Next, you need to know that if your health insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare pays for your medical bills you may need to pay back that company. This is called subrogation. In Colorado there is a law known as the Make Whole Law which says if you have to pay back your health insurance company and you hired an attorney, that insurance company needs to reduce the amount they want back by the same percentage that you have to pay your attorney.
Why does hiring an attorney reduce the amount you need to pay back to your health insurance provider? Since your attorney helped win the money to pay back the insurance company the insurance company needs to help pay some of the attorney fees. If you hired an attorney on a contingency fee, say 1/3, the health insurance needs to reduce how much they want back by 1/3. There are exceptions to this law, so be sure to talk to a Colorado car accident attorney.
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