Medical exams are typically covered by health insurance when seeking to evaluate and treat a patient for specific health conditions.
In contrast, the DOT Physical Exam is considered a fitness-for-duty medical exam such as pre-employment and pre-placement physicals. These types of physical exams are generally not covered by health insurance.
There are Exceptions
For example, the health insurance provided to Oregon government employees covers the DOT physical exam. Also, some trucking companies specifically contract with their health insurance provider to cover the cost of driver medical exams. Lastly, some companies simply pay for their driver’s DOT medical exams.
Some healthcare providers combine the DOT physical into an annual medical exam that is covered by the driver’s health insurance. But if the driver hasn’t met their insurance deductible, they may end up paying anyway.
This practice has the potential to be viewed as insurance fraud as there is not a billing code that is descriptive of the service provided.
