Medical payments coverage (MedPay) pays your medical bills after a car accident regardless of fault, with no deductible and no copay. Coverage typically costs $3 to $8 per month for $1,000 to $10,000 in protection, according to ValuePenguin's 2024 carrier rate analysis.
A $5,000 emergency room visit after a rear-end collision leaves the average insured driver with $1,800 out of pocket after a $1,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance, according to Bankrate's claims analysis. MedPay eliminates that gap for roughly $8 per month. If you're comparing MedPay alongside liability, collision, and comprehensive, our types of car insurance coverage guide covers the full breakdown of how each layer works together.
What Is MedPay?
Medical payments coverage pays medical bills for you and your passengers after any auto accident, whether you caused it or not. Limits range from $1,000 to $100,000 depending on the carrier, with State Farm and Progressive both offering high-limit options above $25,000.
Two things separate MedPay from every other coverage on your policy: no deductible and no copay. Your carrier pays from dollar one, up to the limit you purchased, with no liability investigation required.
One structural detail worth knowing: the limit is per person, not per accident. A $5,000 MedPay policy covering you and three passengers could pay out up to $20,000 total from a single crash, per Bankrate's policy analysis. That per-person structure makes MedPay disproportionately valuable for drivers who regularly transport passengers.
What MedPay Covers and What It Doesn't
MedPay covers a specific set of accident-related medical expenses, activating immediately after a crash:
- Emergency room visits and ambulance transport (average ambulance cost: approximately $1,200 per AAA 2023 data)
- Hospital stays, surgeries, and diagnostic imaging such as X-rays and MRIs
- Follow-up doctor appointments and specialist visits directly related to the accident
- Physical therapy and chiropractic treatment
- Dental injuries caused by the crash
- Funeral expenses in fatal accidents, up to the policy limit
Coverage extends beyond your own vehicle. MedPay pays if you're hit as a pedestrian or cyclist, and also covers you as a passenger in someone else's car when that driver doesn't have adequate coverage.
Lost wages during recovery are excluded from MedPay entirely — that benefit belongs to PIP coverage. Long-term rehabilitation beyond immediate treatment is also not covered. Freelancers, gig workers, and anyone without short-term disability insurance should add PIP insurance if their state offers it, or check whether their state's MedPay requirements include income replacement.
MedPay vs. PIP vs. Health Insurance
The differences matter most when you're filing a claim under time pressure:
| Feature | MedPay | PIP | Health Insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical bills | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lost wages | No | Yes (typically 60-80% of income) | No |
| Deductible/copay | None | None | $1,787 avg (KFF 2024) |
| Pedestrian coverage | Yes | Yes | Depends on plan |
| Long-term rehab | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| Typical monthly cost | $3-$8/mo | $15-$50+/mo | Separate premium |
| States available | Most states | 12 no-fault states only | All 50 states |
| Fault required to collect | No | No | No |
Source: ValuePenguin MedPay rate analysis, 2024; Bankrate PIP cost estimates, 2025; KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey 2024.
PIP (Personal Injury Protection) is only available in the 12 no-fault states: Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Utah. In all other states, MedPay is the only first-party medical coverage you can add to an auto policy.
Florida is eliminating its mandatory PIP requirement on July 1, 2026, shifting to a fault-based liability system. For Florida drivers, MedPay will become the primary way to cover your own medical bills after a crash without waiting for a liability determination. Our Florida PIP elimination guide covers what steps to take before the switch.
One practical note: GEICO considers health insurance the primary coverage when you have MedPay, meaning your health insurer pays first and MedPay covers the remainder. Progressive and State Farm treat MedPay as primary, per ValuePenguin's carrier research. Check your specific policy declarations page to confirm which applies to your situation.
How Much Does MedPay Cost?
ValuePenguin's 2024 rate analysis across eight major carriers (methodology: single 30-year-old male, clean record, 2018 Honda Civic, Illinois ZIP codes) produced the following averages:
| Coverage Limit | Average Monthly Cost | Average Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $3 | $36 |
| $2,500 | $5 | $60 |
| $5,000 | $6 | $72 |
| $10,000 | $8 | $96 |
| $25,000+ | $12+ | $144+ |
Source: ValuePenguin, 2024 rate analysis, eight major carriers, Illinois.
State Farm quoted $4 per month for standard MedPay coverage in recent customer filings. On a Travelers auto policy, upgrading from $2,000 to $10,000 in coverage costs roughly $10 more per year, according to a Florida-based Brown & Brown Insurance agent quoted by Bankrate.
The jump from $5,000 to $10,000 in MedPay coverage costs roughly $2 per month more. A single ER visit averages $2,200, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker (2024). Paying an extra $24 per year for double the coverage is worth it for most drivers, particularly those with employer-sponsored plans carrying deductibles above $1,000.
States That Require MedPay
Maine and New Hampshire are the only two states requiring MedPay as part of every auto policy. Pennsylvania requires drivers to carry some form of medical benefits coverage, either PIP or MedPay, but not specifically MedPay itself.
In all other states, MedPay is strictly optional. Carriers in those states must offer it, but drivers can decline in writing. About 1 in 4 State Farm policyholders in states where MedPay is offered choose to decline it, according to State Farm spokesman Kip Diggs via Bankrate, typically because they're confident in their health coverage or prefer to self-insure for smaller medical expenses.
Maine's LD 899, passed in 2025, updated how MedPay benefit assignments to medical providers must be handled. Maine drivers now have the right to control how MedPay benefits are applied when they also carry commercial health insurance. Call your carrier to confirm your assignment rights are documented in your policy.
Should You Get MedPay If You Already Have Health Insurance?
This is the question that drives most MedPay decisions, and the answer comes down to one number: your health insurance deductible.
Drivers on a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) gain the most from MedPay. The IRS minimum deductible for an HDHP in 2026 is $1,650 for individual coverage, and most HDHPs run closer to $2,632. A $10,000 MedPay policy at $8 per month costs $96 per year and covers your entire deductible in a serious accident, making the math straightforward.
Even with a low-deductible employer plan, MedPay solves two problems health insurance doesn't handle well: speed and disputed claims. Health insurers sometimes delay payment on accident-related claims, arguing that auto insurance should pay first. MedPay pays immediately without requiring a liability determination, keeping medical providers paid and protecting your credit while the at-fault claim works through the system.
On a $5,000 ER bill with a $1,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance, health insurance alone costs you $1,800 out of pocket. MedPay covers the same bill at $0 out of pocket. That $1,800 gap in protection costs $96 per year to close, per Bankrate's calculation with Great Northwest Insurance Co.
Three scenarios where MedPay adds clear value:
- You carry an HDHP with a deductible above $1,500 — MedPay pays your deductible from the first dollar after an accident
- You regularly drive passengers, such as carpooling colleagues or your children's sports team — the per-person limit multiplies across all occupants
- You work as a rideshare or delivery driver — personal auto policies typically don't cover passengers during active trips, making supplemental medical coverage even more critical
The main scenario where MedPay adds limited value: you carry a low-deductible PPO (under $500), no copay after the deductible, and you drive alone. At that point the out-of-pocket exposure MedPay would cover is small, and $96 per year may not clear the break-even threshold. That said, the liability coverages on your policy still won't cover your own medical bills — so at any deductible level, MedPay remains the only auto coverage designed specifically for that purpose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. MedPay pays regardless of fault, which is one of its primary advantages over waiting for a liability determination. Whether you rear-end another vehicle or are hit by an uninsured driver, MedPay activates immediately for your medical bills and those of your passengers, up to the per-person limit on your policy.
Yes, but they cannot pay for the same expense twice. Depending on your carrier, either MedPay or health insurance acts as the primary payer first. GEICO applies health insurance first, then uses MedPay for remaining balances; Progressive and State Farm apply MedPay first. After the primary coverage pays, the secondary coverage applies to any unpaid balance such as deductibles and copays.
In most cases, no. PIP coverage is more comprehensive than MedPay, covering medical bills, lost wages, and sometimes rehabilitation costs. Some drivers in no-fault states add MedPay as a secondary coverage to pay any remaining balances after PIP limits are exhausted, but for most people PIP alone is sufficient. Florida drivers should note that the state's mandatory PIP requirement ends July 1, 2026, at which point MedPay will become the relevant option for first-party medical coverage.
- Bankrate — What Is Auto Insurance Medical Payments Coverage?
- ValuePenguin — What Is Medical Payments Car Insurance Coverage? (2024 Rate Analysis)
- Insurance.com — PIP vs. MedPay: What's the Difference?
- MoneyGeek — What Is Medical Payments Coverage (MedPay)?
- Progressive — What Is Medical Payments Coverage?