While many drivers know the legal consequences of drunk driving, some don’t care about putting their life and of others at risk when they place themselves behind the wheels despite having excessive alcohol content in their system. However, if you think you can get away with it, you’re wrong. Being charged and convicted of drinking under the influence (of alcohol) can be a devastating thing that may happen to you if you’ve committed it. The costs are exorbitant, which also encompasses the healthcare system.
Knowing The True Cost Of DUI On The Healthcare System
Remember that a bottle of one or two will not exempt you from liabilities if you get caught with driving under the influence (of alcohol). It’s not even surprising anymore if you’ll be subjected to several costs as consequences for your unlawful actions. However, the effects of DUI conviction doesn’t stop there as the actual costs cover the healthcare system. To understand DUI in its entirety, here are some of the true costs of being charged with drinking under the influence (of alcohol) on the healthcare system:
- Your injuries are covered by public health insurance if you’ve been hospitalized in a public hospital.
Sustaining injuries is the tricky part of committing drunk driving. While you don’t have control over the situation, you may end up being admitted to a nearby public hospital where the accident happened.
In most cases of DUI, hospitalization expenses ranging from the treatment of injuries to alcohol assessment and counseling are supported by public health insurance – and you should remember that this public health insurance is funded by the citizens of the state.
In other words, the more injuries arising from DUI, the more government funds are allocated for public health insurance purposes. This however only applies if you’ll be transported by the emergency medical services team to a public hospital.
However, you should also keep in mind that your private health insurance will apply if you choose to be treated in a private hospital for your injuries and other types of treatment procedures. In turn, your private insurance company will charge you of all the costs for your medication.
- Taxpayer’s money finances the operations of the emergency medical services team.
Drunk driving can destroy your life and the life of others. While you don’t mind being charged with DUI, you should still be considerate enough to think of the safety of others, especially those who are walking across the streets.
If you’ve committed drunk driving and you find yourself uninjured, you must be fortunate. But what if you’re not the luckiest person that time as you’ve sustained serious injuries? You should remember that anything can happen when you’re driving under the influence (of alcohol).
Regardless of the severity of injuries, anyone who has witnessed the accident will report it to the emergency medical services team for immediate medical attention.
The public funds are being used from the moment the emergency medical services team immediately responds to the situation. In fact, these services are provided by the government to immediately take action whenever there are emergency cases such as accidents and disasters.
- You may pay higher private health insurance rates to cover injuries arising from drunk driving.
Getting health insurance can help you shoulder your medical expenses whenever you’re seeking for medical treatment.
However, you should keep in mind that there are health insurance service providers who don’t support a variety of medical cases. This usually happens especially if your doctor’s diagnosis isn’t included in your coverage.
The same thing applies to situations where you’ve been injured in a drunk driving accident. If your private health insurer requires you to pay higher insurance rates to cover treatment of injuries arising from DUI, you should be ready for the potential costs you may be paying.
- Your personal injury claim may be denied by your private health insurance provider by having alcohol content in your system.
While other health insurance companies are more than willing to cover any medical costs that you’ve to pay because of drunk driving, unfortunately, some insurers may not be able to entertain your claims as they’re governed by alcohol exclusion laws in your state.
You should remember that alcohol exclusion laws provide private health insurance companies the authority to deny any personal injury claims resulting from DUI. As a result, you’ll need to pay all the medical expenses you’ve incurred while being admitted to a private hospital – and in turn, your financial health will be affected in the long run.
Drinking and driving are dangerous. If you’ve still chosen to be at the wheel despite being intoxicated, your fun time can turn into the nightmare of your lifetime. Aside from facing some legal consequences of a DUI charge, you’ll never know how much money you’ll be wasting for being so irresponsible in your driving decision until you’ll understand the true costs of DUI on the healthcare system. Should you need the assistance of an attorney, lawyers here may help you deal with your concerns.
Lilly Jordan
Lilly Jordan has been a law writer for more than 20 years, and she hopes to impart legal wisdom to the common reader through her works. She is currently working on a new law piece. A certified “foodie,” Lilly loves to cook for her friends and family. She often tries new dishes whenever she has free time.