The term “subrogation,” when talking about health insurance, refers to the process by which health insurance companies are repaid for medical bills they paid when a person is injured in an accident. Up until now, health insurance companies could recover every dollar they paid out with respect to an injury claim in Ohio. Although this sounds reasonable at first blush, there are often times, after an accident, where there is not enough insurance to repay the health insurance company and compensate the injured person. This means that the accident victim can come away with very little – or nothing at all.
The Ohio Senate recently added an amendment to the state budget bill which would enact a fair and reasonable subrogation law. The new amendment solves the subrogation problem by establishing a new method by which the injured person and the health insurance carrier will share equally when there are insufficient liability insurance funds. This new method is similar to how Medicare and Medicaid funds are treated in similar circumstances. It’s also similar to how health insurance companies are treated in 40 other states.
Earlier this week, the provision was passed as part of the budget bill. While the Governor did remove portions of the provision through line-item veto, the bulk of the provision survived. The Ohio Association of Justice, an organization of which Elizabeth and Patrick are both proud members, has stated that, although there are some issues remaining, the language the governor kept in the bill “is still a step in the right direction for injured parties and restoring balance.”
You can learn more about this issue at the links below:
