subject: The Effectiveness Of Liability Insurance For Doctors [print this page] Doctors, nurses and radiologists rely on the effectiveness of liability insurance to protect them from having to pay damages if they are found liable in a lawsuit Personal Injury lawsuit. They are required by law, in most places, to maintain a certain level of coverage which can be a financial burden to small facilities. Physician groups, such as partnerships or hospitals, may be able to negotiate to reduce the cost of liability insurance. This has caused some medical personnel to demand charges in the law.
Hospitals, medical partnerships, and state laws usually require medical practitioners to carry liability insurance in order to treat patients. This is sometimes referred to colloquially as malpractice insurance. Hospitals or managed care programs may carry a group liability insurance policy to protect the staff people that are employed at their facility.
One advantage of group liability insurance policies is the reduction of premiums paid by the individual practitioners. Individual premiums for liability insurance can increase as much as fifty percent per year, making liability insurance one of the largest expenses in practicing medicine. But, groups may be able to design longer contracts that keep rates stable for a longer number of years.
Groups can leverage their size to negotiate better rates. Because physicians and staff must pay these premiums, the cost is passed onto the patients by increasing the cost of services. This can become a cycle that reduces access to health care to those who are financially vulnerable.
Some people argue that smaller medical facilities which serve rural or impoverished populations are at risk of closure because of the cost of liability insurance. Particularly emergency or trauma facilities, which need comprehensive policies to protect their staff from lawsuits. The closure of these services might force people to travel further to get needed treatment.
The alternative to carrying large liability policies is often retirement. But, even then, the need for liability insurance does not stop. A doctor or specialist might be required to carry a policy to protect them from events several years in the past being litigated after the doctor has already left the practice of medicine. This is called a tail policy.
Some doctors and nurses have begun to demand that legislators regulate the cost of liability insurance that they need to protect themselves against damages in a personal injury suit. They would like a cap put on awards to patients who sue and the rise in premiums charged for policies to be reigned in. This could be beneficial to patients in making health care more affordable in some cases.
An examination of the laws that require medical personnel to carry large policies, even into retirement, may be useful to control the costs of health care. Finding out how to increase the effectiveness of liability insurance to protect doctors in the case of Personal Injury lawsuits may keep smaller emergency and trauma units open and increase access to health care to those outside urban areas. Protecting physicians and nurses and other medical staff by group policies may be one way to do this. This might be beneficial to patients and doctors alike.
by: Adriana Noton
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