Medical Payments Coverage (MedPay) in 2025 (Everything You Need to Know)

Medical payments coverage is a valuable addition to your car insurance policy that pays for healthcare expenses after an accident.

Medical payments (MedPay) coverage isn’t available in every state, but it’s usually affordable where you can buy it. However, it doesn’t cover everything related to healthcare costs after an accident.

Read on to learn when you need medical payments coverage on your car insurance and if it’s the right choice for you. Then, enter your ZIP code into our free comparison tool to see how much MedPay coverage costs in your area.

Understanding Medical Payments Coverage Insurance

Medical payments coverage, or MedPay, is one of many types of auto insurance coverage that helps pay for medical expenses for you and your passengers after a car accident. Typically speaking, medical payments insurance covers the following:

• Hospital visits and stays
• Doctor’s visits
• Surgery and X-rays
• Ambulance fees
• Funeral expenses

Medical payments auto insurance covers these expenses you no matter who was at fault for the accident. In most cases, MedPay coverage is an optional addition to your policy and is not required in many states.

Auto insurance with medical payments coverage is useful because it can cover out-of-pocket expenses that health insurance might not, like your deductible or copays. However, it doesn’t cover all expenses related to a car accident, like lost wages.

What Medical Payments Coverage Does Not Cover

Car insurance with medical payments covers a lot, but it doesn’t handle everything related to health care costs after an accident. MedPay does not cover the following:

• Lost wages
• Compensation for pain and suffering
• Injuries to people outside your vehicle
• Vehicle repairs
• Injuries sustained while committing a crime

You’re also limited to the amount of coverage available in your policy. The maximum limit of your policy is something you decide when you purchase it and has a direct impact on how much you pay per month.

Most states have a recommended amount of MedPay coverage that balances usefulness with affordability. For example, the best Arizona auto insurance experts recommend purchasing $5,000 worth of MedPay coverage.

MedPay Coverage Rates

As far as finding the cheapest auto insurance companies go, MedPay is such an affordable option that most providers offer low rates. Below, you can compare the average cost of MedPay coverage with personal injury protection, or PIP coverage.

Medical Payments Coverage vs. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Rates by Provider

As you can see, finding affordable MedPay coverage isn’t usually difficult. Finding the cheapest medical payments coverage is usually easy, as long as you compare rates with multiple companies.

If you don’t want to spend the time and effort to fill out request forms at multiple companies, you can use a free online quote-generating tool to look at multiple rates at once.

MedPay vs. Personal Injury Protection Insurance

Understanding the difference between personal injury protection insurance and MedPay can be confusing, but there are some key differences that can help you differentiate between them.

Medical Payments vs. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Coverage Comparison

While there are many differences between these coverage types, the basic idea is that PIP insurance covers a little more than MedPay. Finding the best personal injury payments insurance is usually easy, so long as you do a little research.

MedPay vs. Bodily Injury Liability

Although they cover similar things, medical payments coverage and bodily injury liability insurance are very different types of insurance.

The key difference between these types of insurance is that MedPay covers you and your passengers no matter who was at fault for an accident. Bodily injury liability only pays for injuries you cause to others in an at-fault accident. It never covers your injuries.

MedPay vs. Health Insurance

Many drivers wonder if they should buy MedPay coverage if they already have health insurance. While health insurance often covers auto accident injuries, it’s not the same as having MedPay coverage.

If you have a solid health insurance policy with low deductibles and copays, MedPay may not be necessary. However, it still offers valuable coverage. For example, your health insurance only covers you and your dependents, while MedPay covers everyone in your car.

Learn More: How long does an accident affect your auto insurance rate?

When to Buy Medical Payments Coverage

Are there medical payments insurance requirements for drivers? Currently, there are only two states that include MedPay coverage in their minimum auto insurance requirements: New Hampshire and Maine. In most other states, MedPay is an optional coverage.

However, some no-fault states prioritize personal injury protection insurance over MedPay. These include Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Utah.

Adding MedPay coverage to your policy can be a smart move in certain situations. MedPay coverage might be right if any of the following apply to you:

• You have a high-deductible health insurance plan
• You frequently drive with passengers
• You don’t have personal injury protection insurance
• You want extra financial protection
• You don’t want to use your health insurance

With MedPay rates typically costing a fraction of overall insurance premiums, it’s usually a good idea to add it if you think you might need it.

You might not need MedPay insurance if you have health insurance with low deductibles and copays, or if you live in a no-fault state.

Before you decide that you don’t need MedPay coverage, you should check your health insurance. Most policies cover injuries sustained in a car accident, but it’s always best to double-check before you decline MedPay coverage.

With so many accidents happening all over America, having more health care coverage in your auto insurance is never a bad idea. Medical payments is an affordable option to add to your insurance policy that protects you from expensive health care expenses after an accident.

While it’s not right for everyone, most drivers benefit from adding MedPay coverage to their policy. When you’re ready to find the perfect policy for your needs, enter your ZIP code into our free comparison tool.