If medi-cal cover half of my medical bills during a auto accident do get the remainder?

Unfortunately, the changes to the medicare/medi-cal reimbursement rules through case law in the last 4 years or so has clouded this issue a lot. I'm guessing the 1.5 times for special damages you refer to, refers to 1.5 times the medical bills right? That was never a hard and fast rule that I know of, but in the past, some lawyers and adjusters used to do that. Nowadays, medicare/medi-cal pay pennies on the dollar in reimbursement to health care providers, there might be limits to what you can present to a jury as your medical bills, and as a result, it becomes very difficult to use medical billing as a basis for anything. Instead, it's better to look at what you had to do to recover from your injuries. Being forced to go through certain kinds of treatment has a value. Lawyers learn what those values might ultimately be at trial, and then try to determine a reasonable settlement value based on that. If you're trying to do that and settle your case, then you might consider hiring a lawyer to review your whole case and do this job for you. I suggest you find one in your area.

You should follow Mr. Ferrara's advise.

Hello. First, there is no hard formula of calculating a fair settlement value like some people think, as it depends on a number of other important factors besides the medical bills (wage loss, non-economic damages such as emotional distress, prior injuries if any, future prognosis for full recovery or continuing pain/need for surgery etc). With regard to medical - it's important that you get the information about the actual charges of all your healthcare providers and not the reduced charges that medical paid (medi-cal pays much less to the medical providers under the contract). In most cases, medi-cal has a statutory right to reimbursement of at least part of their expenses if you recover from a third party's insurance company as well. Thanks, and feel free to follow up. Arkady Itkin San Francisco Injury Lawyer

In California, if you are injured and covered by Medicare or Medi-cal you are only entitled to recover what Medicare or Medi-cal paid, and not what was billed by the health care provider. Medicare or Medi-cal then has a lien on your third party claim to recover the amount they paid. This lien can be negotiated so it's important you contact a personal injury attorney to assist you in this matter.

Under Haniff you will only be able to get reimbursed for the "actual" amount paid by Medical so long as that amount is accepted by the provider as payment in full. Medical then has a statutory lien on the case for what they put out. A skilled attorney can normally get this amount reduced. Do you honestly think you will be able to get yourself a decent settlement in this car accident case without an attorney; think again. You have no clue what you are entitled to; I do. My firm handles car and other motor vehicle accidents all over the State of California. You should call me for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 x. 1. I will tell you over the phone what I think about your case, and what you may be entitled to. You may also check out my car accident website at http://www.thepersonalinjury.com