The Collision Care ClinicAfter a crash, a few kinds of coverage can pay for your care. MedPay is on almost every Colorado auto policy and pays your medical bills no matter who caused the wreck. If the other driver was at fault, their bodily injury coverage pays your damages, and your own uninsured/underinsured coverage steps in when they have no insurance or not enough.
No upfront cost. We verify your coverage before your first visit, so you know what is available before care begins.
If you carry auto insurance in Colorado, you almost certainly have MedPay. It pays your accident-related medical bills no matter who caused the crash, and it starts right away. No settlement, no waiting.
Colorado law requires a $5,000 MedPay minimum on auto policies sold in the state, and it is included by default. You only lack it if you signed a written rejection. Because of that, most Colorado drivers have MedPay, many without realizing it.
If an insurer tells you that you have no MedPay, you can ask for the signed rejection. Without it, your policy is presumed to include the $5,000 minimum (Colorado Revised Statutes 10-4-635).
MedPay is separate from liability coverage. It is not about who is responsible. It is your coverage, for your medical bills, available as soon as you report the accident.
Most Colorado MedPay has no deductible, so it pays from the first dollar, and it covers you and your passengers. Even if the crash was your fault, your MedPay still applies.
MedPay covers reasonable and necessary medical care from your accident: emergency room and hospital charges, physician visits, physical therapy, massage therapy when it is part of your plan, imaging like X-ray, MRI, and CT, prescriptions, and ambulance charges.
It does not cover lost wages or pain and suffering. Those are handled through a bodily injury settlement or your own uninsured/underinsured coverage.
MedPay is part of the insurance you already pay for through your premiums, not a loan. In most cases it does not need to be repaid. Some policies include a subrogation clause that lets the insurer recover what it paid from a later settlement. Your case manager reviews your policy so you know which rule applies to you.
The $5,000 minimum is a floor, not a ceiling, and many drivers carry more. When MedPay is used up, your health insurance, other coverage, or a lien satisfied from your settlement keeps your care going.
MedPay is not the only way your care gets paid. If you have little or no MedPay, or it runs out, three other coverages can step in. Which one applies depends on who was at fault and what each policy carries.
| Coverage | MedPay | PIP | Bodily injury | UM/UIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whose policy | Yours | Yours | The at-fault driver's | Yours |
| Depends on fault? | No | No | Yes, other driver at fault | Yes, uninsured or underinsured |
| Pays medical bills | Yes | Yes | Yes, in settlement | Yes, fills the gap |
| Pays lost wages | No | Yes | Yes, in settlement | Yes, fills the gap |
| In Colorado | Offered by default | Optional | Required, $25,000 / $50,000 minimum | Offered by default |
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) goes further than MedPay. Where MedPay covers medical bills, PIP can also replace part of your lost wages and pay for household help you cannot manage while you heal. Colorado does not require PIP, but many policies include it, and like MedPay it pays regardless of fault.
If your policy has both, they coordinate. For the full comparison, read PIP coverage in Colorado.
When another driver is at fault, their Bodily Injury (BI) liability coverage is the main source of compensation for your injuries. Colorado requires at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in BI coverage (Colorado Revised Statutes 10-4-620).
Many drivers carry only that minimum, so in a serious injury it can run short. That is when your own underinsured coverage matters. What a BI claim is built on is your bills, your records, and the documented effect of your injuries.
UM/UIM stands for Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage. Uninsured means the at-fault driver has no insurance at all. Underinsured means they have some, but not enough to cover your injuries. Either way, this is your own policy stepping in. In Colorado, UM and UIM are sold as one combined coverage (Colorado Revised Statutes 10-4-609).
Insurers must offer this coverage by default. You have it unless you or your agent rejected it in writing, so many Colorado drivers carry it without realizing.
You should not have to guess what your insurance will pay. Before your first visit, your case manager finds out for you.
When you come to The Collision Care Clinic after a crash, benefits verification is part of your first visit. Your case manager identifies your MedPay, PIP, health insurance, and any lien option, so you know exactly what is available before treatment begins.
You do not need an attorney and you do not need to prove fault to use your own MedPay or PIP.
Your coverage is coordinated in an order: MedPay and PIP pay as treatment happens, your health insurance can pick up more, and a lien covers the rest, satisfied from your settlement.
Sorting this out before you start means your care is not delayed by paperwork, and there are no surprises about who pays.
If your coverage runs short, or you are waiting on a claim, you still get care. A lien lets treatment happen now and be paid later, from your settlement.
A medical lien is an agreement. We provide the care your injuries need now, and we are paid from your insurance settlement or judgment when your case resolves. No copay at the door, no monthly bills, no collections while your case is open.
Treatment runs on a medical timeline, not a financial one. For the full walkthrough, read how payment works under the lien model.
The lien is not the only thing paying. MedPay and PIP pay as your treatment happens, which lowers the lien balance. Health insurance can cover more.
When your case resolves, the remaining lien is satisfied from the settlement, along with other costs, and the rest goes to you.
A lien attaches to your settlement, not to you personally. Treatment is based on what your body needs, not on what you can afford that month.
We verify your MedPay, PIP, or health insurance first, and the lien covers the difference. So you never face a moment where coverage runs out and care stops.
A claim is only as strong as what the record can prove. Good documentation is not about a bigger number. It is about showing, clearly, that your injuries are real and that your care was needed.
The strength of a claim rests on the medical record. A record that shows a physician diagnosis at your first visit, the accident as the cause, and your progress tracked over time makes the justification for your care clear.
If your symptoms and their effect on your life are not written down, there is no way to prove the treatment was justified. That is the part we control: the quality of the record.
A strong record is more than pain scores. It includes a physician evaluation at intake, a causation opinion connecting your injuries to the crash, standardized measures of how your injuries limit you, imaging that matches your symptoms, and one coordinating physician tying each decision to a clinical finding.
Care directed by one managing physician produces that kind of record naturally. To see how it supports a claim, read why documentation matters.
Insurers often argue that a gap in treatment means an injury was not serious. Following your treatment schedule, and rescheduling within a few days if you must, keeps the record consistent and answers that argument before it starts.
To learn the tactics insurers use and how a record answers them, read what insurance companies won't tell you.
A physician-led team, ready when you are. No upfront cost. We verify your coverage before your first visit.