What's Medical Lien & How It Helps Fund Victims- Adamson Ahdoot

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What Is a Lien-Based Medical Provider?

September 8, 2023 Alan Ahdoot
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If you’re facing a serious injury from an accident, it might come as a surprise that you’ll have to brace for accumulating medical bills during your recovery. Not to mention, these injuries can linger for months or result in permanent disability. But, how do you manage treatment costs when finances are tight? What is a medical lien? Can you get funding for your injuries?

Keep reading to discover how medical liens can provide the necessary funds for your recovery.

What is Lien-based Financing?

A medical lien, also called a hospital lien, is a financing solution for accident victims. It’s a binding agreement between the patient and the medical provider. This contract ensures that the lien covers the patient’s hospital bills while awaiting compensation. Medical liens offer assistance by temporarily managing costs during recovery. 

They are particularly helpful when patients lack funds due to the injury or lost income. If you’ve opted for lien-based financing, your healthcare provider will seek repayment once the court awards your settlement, completing the cycle.

How Does Medical Lien Financing Work?

Once the agreement is signed, medical lien funding commences. Subsequently, the medical provider notifies both the hospital and the patient regarding the lien. Many hospitals employ medical liens to guarantee repayment of the settlement sum. 

While a lien-based doctor won’t demand upfront payment, not all medical providers operate under this principle. If the patient loses the personal injury case, healthcare providers might encounter challenges in billing medical expenses. 

In such cases, bills may go to collections, with hospitals receiving only a fraction of the owed amount. In instances where patients have unpaid bills, some providers may discontinue care. To ensure ongoing lien-based medical care, medical funding agencies play a crucial role.

Medical Lien Funding vs. Pre-settlement Legal Funding

A medical lien focuses solely on covering your medical expenses. These costs are invoiced after your case settlement. 

On the other hand, pre-settlement legal funding involves an advance based on your expected compensation. Neither funding type requires payment unless your case is successful. Once approved, the funds are deposited directly into your bank account.

Types of Lien-based Medical Services

These are just some of the different types of medical services covered by liens:

Imaging

Victims with fractures and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) often require costly scans like X-rays, CAT scans, and MRIs. Thankfully, medical lien funding can assist in covering these expenses.

Surgery

Treatment of severe crash injuries may often involve reconstructive surgery. As long as injuries are accident-related, medical liens typically cover various procedures, including:

  • Neurosurgery
  • Cardiac surgery
  • Plastic surgery
  • Oral surgery
  • Thoracic surgery
  • Orthopedic surgery
  • General surgery

Pain Management

Opioids may be prescribed for pain following a car crash or surgery. Medical liens can also extend to pain management specialists, ensuring a quicker recovery process.

Rehabilitation and Therapy

Lien-based medical providers understand the importance of rehab and therapy in recovery. Severe injury victims, like those with TBI, will receive various interventions including speech, physical, and pulmonary therapy.

Mental Health Care

Apart from physical injuries, personal injury patients may develop mental health conditions like PTSD. Lien-based mental health providers offer assessments, treatment plans, individual therapy, prescriptions, and addiction treatment to address emotional trauma.

Pharmaceutical Care

Prescription medications are essential in recovery after surgery and treatment. Medical lien funding can extend to cover these medications, aiding in both physical and mental recovery from accident-related injuries.

How Much Can the Lien Deduct From Your Settlement?

Regarding lien deductions from settlements, the medical lien serves as a binding contract between the patient and the healthcare provider. 

In this setup, the hospital receives the full lien amount from your settlement. If your injury compensation falls short, the lien holder can request the remaining balance from you. 

a nurse talking to a patient
Accident victims can secure funding for their healthcare treatments from lien-based medical providers.

What is Non-lien-based Financing?

Non-lien-based financing comes into play if you possess private insurance like Medicare or Medicaid. With health insurance, you don’t need to depend on medical liens, as your insurer already addresses hospital expenses. 

On the other hand, insurers recoup losses through subrogation—a legal method of compensating the defendant. Through this, insurers retrieve costs from accident victims who benefited from MedPay insurance.

What Happens If You Lose Your Case?

Upon settling your case, medical lien funding is deducted from the awarded amount. Even without a case win, you’ll still be protected. If pre-settlement funding leaves excess, it’s yours to retain. However, you remain accountable for medical bills and legal fees outside the lien’s coverage.

Let Adamson Ahdoot Assist You With Your Medical Liens

At Adamson Ahdoot, our seasoned lawyers are well-equipped to aid personal injury victims in pursuing medical liens or pre-settlement funding. We guarantee you access to necessary care during your settlement wait to ensure your road to recovery. 

Partnering with a lawyer for a private lien ensures proper treatment for your injuries. For insight into leveraging liens for medical costs, arrange a consultation with our injury attorneys at (800) 310-1606 today.

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