Subrogation is the process of seeking recovery of health care expenses from other parties who may be responsible for an injury. The process saves health care dollars by making sure that the responsible party or their insurer pays the expenses.
When a member is injured by a third party (for example, when injured in a car wreck caused by another driver), Mountain State pays the member's medical bills and later recovers the cost of treatment from other available coverage. This allows medical bills to be paid timely. It often takes months of litigation to settle an accident claim against the person who caused the accident. Mountain State’s right to reimbursement and subrogation is contained in your health care benefit certificate. Third parties can include, among others, your own insurance policy, such as underinsurance or uninsured automobile coverage. Please call the Subrogation unit at Mountain State if you have any questions.
In 1999, Mountain State recovered over $1,700,000 of paid claims from other parties. We recognize these savings when calculating premiums, and we save members the cost of medical care caused by the negligence of others.