You may pay into a health insurance plan in the first place to prepare to offset any unforeseen medical needs and costs that may arise, including if you are unfortunately made the victim of a medical malpractice accident. However, depending on the severity of your injuries or illnesses after this accident, your existing policy may not offer enough coverage. This is when you may strongly consider seeking compensatory damages in a medical malpractice claim. But before doing so, please follow along to find out whether filing a legal claim will directly affect your health insurance coverage plan and how a proficient New York City medical malpractice attorney at Mark L. Bodner, P.C. can help you think this through.
Will a medical malpractice claim affect my health insurance coverage?
It is worth mentioning that your health insurance plan may not cover the cost of filing a medical malpractice claim itself, as these are considered two separate legal processes. However, by doing so, your health insurance company, by law, may be prohibited from adjusting or canceling your coverage plan or increasing your policy rates. This is because they should only base your plan and rate on certain, individualized factors that do not include your separate legal actions. Rather, these factors may entail your age, location of residence, current earned income, number of household dependents, and even your current tobacco and drug use.
What else should I consider before filing a medical malpractice claim?
While your health insurance company cannot directly change your plan based on your pursuit of a medical malpractice claim, there may be certain indirect consequences. Mainly, if you have a successful case, you may receive a significant payout for compensatory damages. As mentioned before, your current earned income may be a determining factor for your coverage plan and policy rate. Therefore, this earned financial compensation may raise your overall income level.
However, your health insurance company may be entitled to request reimbursement for medical costs directly from your settlement agreement or final judgment, before you even see this money. This process is otherwise known as subrogated interest. With this, the payout amount you ultimately receive may be significantly reduced. The possible bright side to this, though, is that it may no longer spike your earned income enough to constitute a plan or policy change.
Last but not least, having a medical malpractice claim in your history may not be a desirable characteristic should you ever choose to switch health insurance companies. This is because you may now have a reputation or risk factor of pursuing legal action. This may have another company propose higher premiums or hesitate to offer you a plan altogether.
If you need legal advice urgently, please do not miss another opportunity to schedule an initial consultation with a talented New York City medical malpractice attorney from Mark L. Bodner, P.C. Contact our firm today.