The Rising Costs of Health Insurance
Rising health insurance costs can add to the financial pressure on someone recovering from an injury, making it important to account for accident-related medical expenses and other losses. In Allentown and throughout the Lehigh Valley, someone injured in a car crash, truck accident, slip and fall, workplace accident, or another incident may already face months of treatment while healthcare costs continue to rise.
If you suffered an injury in Allentown, our personal injury attorneys at HGSK Injury Lawyers can review your medical expenses, lost income, insurance coverage, and other losses that should be included in your claim.
Why Are Health Insurance Costs Rising?
Pennsylvania recently approved an average 15.97% increase in 2027 individual-market health insurance premiums and a 10.28% increase for small-group plans. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department attributes rising costs in part to increases in medical care and prescription drug expenses. The 15.97% figure is an average. Individual premium changes vary by plan, location, age, and other factors.
For an Allentown resident recovering from an injury, a higher premium is only one part of the financial pressure. Treatment may also involve deductibles, copays, coinsurance, prescriptions, and specialist visits.
How Can Higher Health Costs Affect You After an Injury in Allentown?
An injury can create medical expenses at the same time you’re dealing with higher healthcare costs. Someone hurt in a collision on an Allentown roadway, for instance, may need emergency care, follow-up appointments, physical therapy, medication, and diagnostic testing. Even with health insurance, the injured person may have substantial out-of-pocket costs. Our personal injury attorneys in Allentown can gather medical bills and payment records and identify other injury-related expenses that should be documented in your claim.
Does Health Insurance Pay for Everything After an Accident?
No. Health insurance can cover some medical treatment while leaving you responsible for deductibles, copays, coinsurance, or services your policy doesn’t cover. Health insurance also doesn’t replace income lost because an injury keeps you from working. A complete personal injury claim should account for the losses supported by the evidence. Our attorneys can review your medical and employment records to help document those losses.
Why Is Maximizing a Personal Injury Recovery More Important When Health Insurance Costs Rise?
Higher healthcare costs don’t automatically increase the legal value of an injury claim. They can, however, leave less room in a household budget for medical bills and other expenses resulting from an accident. That makes an accurate calculation of accident-related losses especially useful when evaluating a settlement. Medical treatment, lost wages, future care, reduced earning ability, and other documented losses should be evaluated before you settle your claim. Our Allentown personal injury lawyers can assess these losses and challenge a settlement offer that doesn’t adequately account for the evidence.
Can Your Own Fault Reduce Your Personal Injury Recovery?
Yes. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102, Pennsylvania generally reduces damages according to the percentage of negligence attributed to the injured person. That means you can still recover damages if you are partly at fault, as long as your share of fault isn’t greater than the defendants’ combined fault. Your percentage of fault then reduces your award.
Because fault can reduce an award, the evidence supporting liability and damages should be developed carefully. Our personal injury lawyers in Allentown can investigate the accident, gather supporting records, and address arguments that you caused or contributed to the incident.
Don’t Let Rising Healthcare Costs in Allentown Leave You With Too Little
When insurance premiums and out-of-pocket medical costs are climbing, accepting a settlement without a full review of your losses can leave you paying expenses long after the case ends. Call HGSK Injury Lawyers at 267-551-8782 or submit our contact form to have your case reviewed for free.