Hospital Bills vs. No-Fault and Health Plan Claims in Michigan

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

We found no enacted Michigan statute that gives a hospital or doctor a lien on your injury settlement. A no-fault insurer may be reimbursed from a tort recovery only for an accident outside Michigan, a tort claim against an owner or operator without required security, or intentionally caused harm.

No statutory provider lien that we found

We searched Michigan law for a hospital or provider lien on a personal injury recovery. Bills to create a "hospital lien act" were introduced in the Legislature, but we did not find an enacted statute. A provider may still be owed its bill and may have contract rights, for example under an admission agreement or a letter of protection. Ask for an itemized bill and anything you signed.

No-fault insurers and your tort recovery

A subtraction from or reimbursement for PIP benefits may be made only if recovery is realized on a tort claim from an accident outside Michigan, a tort claim against an owner or operator whose required security was not in effect, or a tort claim based on intentionally caused harm, and only for damages for which you received or were entitled to PIP benefits, exclusive of reasonable attorney fees and expenses. The insurer has a lien to that extent (MCL 500.3116(2)).

What a no-fault insurer cannot reach

A subtraction or reimbursement is not due from the part of a recovery for noneconomic loss, or for economic loss above what you recovered from your own insurer (subsection (4)). A tort recovery cannot reduce PIP benefits because of the value of your tort claim (subsection (1)).

A payer who ignores the insurer

A PIP insurer with a reimbursement right that cannot collect because someone paid you with notice of its interest, without making it a joint payee or getting its consent, is entitled to indemnity from that payer (subsection (3)).

Health plans and next steps

A health plan's claim is governed by case law and contract; see our post on made-whole, the Medicare and Medicaid post and the Michigan medical lien calculator.

This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm how Michigan's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed Michigan attorney.