PCP & Car Accidents
After a car accident, many accident victims go see their primary care doctor only to find out there primary care doctor won’t treat them. However, Primary care doctors in some cases will treat you, but they require you to pay for your medical care up-front. Primary care doctors generally will not do what is called third party billing or work on a medical lien.
These Family doctors ‘offices are geared towards billing medical insurance companies, not auto insurance companies. So when you have a car wreck, you will find your medical treatment options may be very limited with your PCP. Let’s see why it’s best to see a doctor that specializes in car accident recovery.
Family Doctors
Family doctors and your primary care physician generally have contracts with health insurance companies. When you go to your PC after a car accident, they may ask you how you were injured. When you tell them it was a car crash, in most cases, they will then require payment up front. They will not bill the health insurance company. Most personal injury patients just don’t have the extra money to fork out for medical care.
I, personally, have seen where a health insurance provider did pay for medical service when a car accident injury was involved. This happened to be in GA, but don’t recall the provider’s name. Out of all the clients (1000’s) I have seen in my career. I only know one that had health insurance pay their PC for medical care resulting from a car accident.
If you are sick, your primary care doctor is your best bet, if you are injured in a car wreck, they may not be the best doctor to see. They usually won’t file third party claims, and they usually treat the injuries above with painkillers and muscle relaxers.
Primary care doctors file through health insurance and know how much they will be paid for each procedure. When your family doctor files a third party claim, he has no idea what the car insurance company will pay for and what they will not. You would think it would be easy. You go see your family doctor, he treats you, and files a third party claim to recovery his bills. The problem is with the auto insurance company. They like to negotiate the bills and your family physician is not going to do this.
Primary care doctors won’t do third party billing
Third party billing is when the doctor’s office bills the third party or auto insurance company. As stated above, in most offices they are set up to bill health insurance providers, not auto insurance providers. However, they will treat you. But, they will want you to pay for your medical care up front.
Your Primary care doctor usually will not file through third party claims. Primary care doctors have a billing structure that is geared more towards health insurance not auto insurance. You would think they are similar, but they are drastically different from each other. If you live in a PIP State, it is possible that your primary care doctor may file through third party claims.
Just as in the example above, third party billing or billing the at fault party’s insurance company takes someone in the office who knows how to do these things. Most Family Doctors have a billing structure with the HS companies that works for them and they are not willing to change it. They don’t want the hassle of dealing with an auto insurance company on the phone all day.
Your Primary care physician wants cash up front
This is very typical in most states. When you go see them, they want their money up front, or no service. Now, this mainly deals with auto accident injuries. Once they hear the word auto accident, they may say things like, we don’t do those, or we need to be paid up front. You get stuck sometimes trying to find a doctor after a car accident, even with health insurance.
In non PIP states, it’s almost a guarantee that your primary care doctor will not file third party claims. They generally will want you to pay out of pocket for services rendered. These medical bills may reach into the thousands of dollars. Many car wreck victims simply cannot afford this. Your Primary care doctor also may never have dealt with auto accident injuries.
Primary care doctors won’t bill on a medical lien or an attorney lien.
A medical lien or attorney’s lien is a document that states the doctor will be paid for his services when your personal injury case settles. Many Primary care physicians won’t see you on a medical or attorney lien. Furthermore, the lien protects the doctor financially, if and when your personal injury case settles, he is paid at that time. The average soft tissue injury case settles in around 6-9 months. Also, depending if there is litigation involved, the family doctor is paid from his health insurance providers generally in 90 days. This could be one reason they do not want to see you if you have been injured in a car wreck, they know they will have to wait longer to get paid.
Primary care Doctors in many cases are paid when services are rendered. At the time of your visit, he wants his money. Now if you have HS, you might pay a deductible and then he files for the rest. Your family doctor or PC certainly will not work with your attorney on a lien. Doctors are professionals, just like attorneys, and i think the thought that an attorney is exercising some sort of power over them might be too much to bear.
They are also not setup for that type of structure in their billing department. They don’t have a clerk in their office dedicated to dealing with attorneys and collections. The do have billing people, but they are used to dealing with HS all day, not attorneys.
Primary care doctors usually do not treat auto accident injuries
Primary care doctors have a wide range of illnesses and issues they treat. However, soft tissue injuries generally are not one of them. Soft tissue injuries are injuries to the ligaments, muscles and tendons in your neck, back, and other parts of your body. The auto accident forces them outside their normal range of motion, this in turn could cause:
- Whiplash
- Neck Pain
- Back Pain
- Headaches
- Tingling sensation running through arms, fingers, legs, etc.
- Muscle weakness
- Insomnia
Why won’t my Health Insurance pay my PC for a car accident injury?
Health Insurance in most states works great for sickness or surgeries, but when it comes to auto accident injuries, they just don’t pay the bill in most instances. Health Insurance Companies may have written in their contract about the services that are covered or not covered in the fine print. I’m not sure if the issue lies with the health insurance company or your primary care physician.
Your family doctor may refuse to file Health Insurance if he knows it was a car accident
Why would your pc fail to file health insurance on your behalf if you see him for a car accident injury? It could be because he is contracted through health insurance to provide services at a reduced cost per visit and he knows personal injury pays more than Health insurance. The problem is he usually wants his money upfront. I have not seen many medical doctors willing to work on a lien or an attorney’s lien.
Documentation
Soft tissue injuries need special care and documentation. Why do they need documentation you might ask? Soft tissue injuries do not show up on X-RAYS. In order for your personal injury attorney to prove that you have an injury from your car wreck he needs documentation of injury. In some cases this comes from medical reports, bills, notes from the doctor who is treating you for your injury. Documentation is critical to the outcome of your personal injury case. Without it, you might not even have a personal injury case or lawsuit.
Your family doctor is not going to document your injury. Furthermore, if he does, it won’t be what the attorney needs to prove your case. Your family doctor will not testify on your behalf if your case has to goes to trial.
Attorneys
Some personal injury attorneys live in a fantasy land when it comes to seeing a doctor after a car accident. I know of some attorneys (very few) who want injured people to see their PC regardless of who pays. If it’s HS or out of pocket, it does not matter to them. If you go see a doctor and then get a bill and don’t pay it, it gets turned over to collection. Your attorney may take some time to settle your case and at that point you may have judgments against you for medical expenses. This may hurt your credit.
Attorneys are great at personal injury; they want to win your case because they don’t get paid until they do. However, in some instances, a settlement does not do much good for the patient if their credit is ruined and then they have to pay all the money back to the collections companies. Most personal injury Attorneys look after their client’s best interest, so this is usually never an issue. However, in some cases it is a very big issue.
Auto Insurance companies and third party claims
They really put up a fight paying for your injuries. They are in the business of saving money on claims, not paying it out. Most insurance companies drive accident victims to call personal injury lawyers. They really leave them no choice. They won’t pay for their medical expenses or they deny claims.
In recent months there seems to have been a swing in the way some insurance companies handle medical claims. They don’t want you to get a personal injury lawyer. They may tell you they will take care of everything only to find out months later they were not being truthful.
I have personally seen were an insurance company paid for an injury a week after the auto accident. The party had an ER bill and the company paid him 2000.00 for a 600.00 medical bill. This particular man went to the ER to get checked out and he was fine. This is not always the case, but the insurance company in my opinion did a great thing. I think they overpaid the guy.
It’s always good to try and see your primary care doctor after an auto accident. Getting checked out after a car wreck is one of the things people don’t do right away, they usually wait until they are in pain. However, many accident victims find themselves being told no, we don’t file third party claims. Accident Doctor has doctors that will file third party claims. They also deal with auto accident victims and know how to document cases. This documentation might not seem important, but it’s very critical to any personal injury case and any hope for a medical claim recovery.
Primary care physicians & Family doctors not treating car accident injuries
We aren’t saying all PC’s or family doctors will not treat car accident cases. It is very common practice for them not to. In some areas of the country we can find all sorts of medical doctors who will treat car accident patients on a medical lien, attorney’s lien, and file third party insurance. But, in most areas of the US, this just isn’t the case. They want to be paid up front or won’t even treat you.
Accident Doctor is in the business of helping injured people find doctors for auto accidents. If you have been injured in a car accident and need help, we are here. Your primary care doctor and family physician may not see you, but we will.
This is why you need to see a doctor that treats auto accidents
You need to see a doctor that can take medical and attorney liens. Auto accidents are what they treat and they have the experience you need to help you get the maximum recovery from your personal injury lawsuit. We can provide you with a doctor that treats soft tissue injuries and works with attorneys on a medical lien. This means no out of pocket expense for you. Get the settlement you deserve and the medical care you need, you can contact us if we do not have a doctor listed in your area.