Arizona · Personal injury · Trial-ready representation
How MedPay coordinates with your health insurance and the at-fault driver's liability coverage, and what to use first to protect your recovery.
After an Arizona crash, the bills start arriving long before any settlement does. ER copays, imaging, follow-up visits, physical therapy — providers want to be paid now. Three different sources may be available to pay them, and using them in the right order can mean thousands of dollars more (or less) in your pocket at the end of the case.
The short version
MedPay is a small-limits, no-fault coverage you can purchase as part of an Arizona auto policy. Common limits are $1,000 to $10,000, though higher amounts are available. Key features:
No-fault
MedPay pays whether you caused the crash or not.
Fast
Usually pays within days to weeks of submitting bills.
No deductible or copay
MedPay pays the full bill up to your policy limit.
Doesn't usually require repayment
Most Arizona MedPay coverage is not subject to subrogation — money you collect from MedPay typically does not have to be paid back from your settlement.
Covers passengers, too
Anyone in your vehicle is generally covered up to the policy limit.
This is why we tell most clients to look at their auto declarations page right after a crash. Many people are paying for MedPay without realizing it — or could add it to their policy for a few dollars a month going forward.
Your health insurance (private, employer-based, Medicare, AHCCCS, TriCare, or VA) usually pays the largest share of the actual medical bills. The catch: most health plans assert a right of subrogation or reimbursement, meaning they get paid back out of your eventual settlement.
Private and employer plans
Often governed by ERISA, with strong reimbursement rights. We negotiate these down whenever the law allows.
Medicare
Has a federally protected right of recovery. Cannot be ignored — failure to repay Medicare can lead to personal liability for both client and lawyer.
AHCCCS (Arizona Medicaid)
Has a state-law lien against any third-party recovery. Repayment is required, but the amount is often negotiable.
TriCare and VA
Federal recovery rights similar to Medicare's.
The advantage of using health insurance anyway: the contracted rate is usually a small fraction of the “billed” rate. Your insurer pays $1,200 where the hospital billed $8,000, and the lien is on the $1,200 — not the $8,000. That’s a huge net win for the case.
The at-fault driver’s bodily-injury liability coverage doesn’t pay your bills as you go. It pays a lump sum when the case is settled or won — and that lump sum is supposed to cover all your damages: medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future care. By the time it arrives, the bills have usually already been paid (or are unpaid and in collections), and the question is who gets repaid out of the settlement.
1. MedPay first
Use it for early ER, imaging, copays, and out-of-pocket costs. Fast, no repayment, no strings.
2. Health insurance for ongoing care
Submit bills through your health insurance to lock in the contracted rate and keep accounts current.
3. Liability settlement at the end
Compensates everything else and pays back the health insurance lien at a negotiated amount.
Don't tell providers "I'll pay from my settlement."
That can become a contractual lien. Use insurance whenever you can.
Don't ignore Medicare or AHCCCS letters.
These liens have to be addressed before disbursement. Ignoring them now creates a far bigger problem later.
Don't accept a fast settlement that ignores the liens.
If the gross settlement is small and the liens are large, your net can be zero — or worse.
A coordinated approach takes some work up front and a lot of work at the end. Done right, it’s the difference between a settlement that makes you whole and one that disappears into liens before it reaches you.
Free consultation
Every case is different. A short call with a Big Dog Law attorney can answer the question that actually matters for your situation.
