April 16, 2020 by matray

AM Best will host a complimentary webinar on April 28, 2020, at 10 a.m. (EDT). AM Best analytic personnel and insurance industry leaders will review the state of the U.S. medical professional liability insurance sector. The panel will examine financial results, underwriting, loss trends, regulatory and industry developments, along with developments among alternative risk providers. The discussion follows the publication of AM Best’s annual special report on the state of the medical professional liability market.

Register now: www.ambest.com/webinars/MPL20.

Panelists include:

• Sharon Marks, associate director, AM Best;
• David Blades, associate director, AM Best;
• Brian Atchinson, president and chief executive officer, Medical Professional Liability Association;
• Jim Hurley, consulting actuary, Willis Towers Watson; and
• Joseph G. Murphy, chief operating officer, Coverys.

Attendees can submit questions during registration or by emailing webinars@ambest.com. The event will be streamed in video and audio formats, and playback will be available to registered viewers shortly after the event.

April 16, 2020 by matray

Mutual Insurance Company of Arizona (MICA) announced that its Board of Trustees has declared a special dividend to provide economic relief to its members.

The company will distribute a $12 million dividend to all members with policies in-force as of April 30, 2020. The dividend will be credited to policyholder accounts on June 1, 2020.

“We have been closely monitoring the evolution of this pandemic and stand to support our members who face unprecedented practice challenges and economic hurdles. Like many other businesses, healthcare practitioners throughout Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah are feeling the broad effects of this pandemic,” said Ron Malpiedi, senior vice president and chief operating officer. “MICA’s financial strength allows us to respond with this special dividend to our policyholders with great confidence.”

“It’s no secret that the healthcare community at large has been called to the frontline of this pandemic,” said James Carland, MD., president and chairman of the board. “While we give thanks and commend the men and women working countless hours to care for their patients, we are also aware that physicians and surgical groups in private practice are experiencing economic fall-out and pain. Working under these conditions creates increased stress and concern for potential liability exposure. As a physician-run mutual insurer, it’s our responsibility to assist our members in maintaining proper medical professional liability coverage to alleviate stress and to help ensure the sustainability of our profession.”

In addition to this special dividend, MICA is waiving cancellations for non-payment of premium until June 30, 2020.

April 14, 2020 by matray

MagMutual announced new premium discounts on medical professional liability policies as they renew next year for policyholders who experienced lower patient volumes in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Discounts will extend through to 2023 policy renewal period.

“This COVID-19 crisis has altered the way our country is delivering healthcare,” said Joe Wilson, MD, executive chairman of MagMutual. “And because of these changes, many of our policy owners are seeing fewer patients and doing fewer elective procedures. As a mutual company, we believe our policy owners should not pay the same amount of premium when they are caring for substantially fewer patients.”

The company intends to file these discounts with the respective states’ Departments of Insurance during April 2020. Upon approval, MagMutual will inform its policyholders of their new rates at renewal. The premium discount is in addition to the company’s recently announced nine-month payment deferral option.

“This means that over a three-year period, in effect, we ensure our policy owners do not pay for the exposures they did not experience due to lower patient volumes,” said Neil Morrell, CEO of MagMutual. “Coupled with our payment deferral options, our discounted premium rates also mean than the cash flow of the policyholders more reasonably follows their expected billing cycles, as they resume to normalcy.”

April 14, 2020 by matray

MagMutual announced that its medical professional liability policyholders can defer their premium payments for nine months. The premium deferment option is available to existing and new policyholders. At the completion of the nine-month period, policyholders will then have the option to spread out their outstanding balance over their subsequent renewed policy period. The company would like to thank the Georgia Department of Insurance for expeditiously supporting this initiative.

“We understand that our policy owners are likely to be experiencing more stress, anxiety and financial burden than usual,” said Joe Wilson, MD, executive chairman of MagMutual. “We want to do what we can to alleviate one of the concerns they may have, and help in our small way.”

Interested policyholders are advised to contact their sales representative or insurance agent. More information, including details of the program and applicable conditions, are provided on the company’s website, www.MagMutual.com.

As the situation currently appears, the company expects to keep this relief in place for all of 2020.

April 14, 2020 by matray

The following is a Legislative Alert from Protect Patients Now:

Protect Patients Now needs your help to protect patients and the healthcare providers that are working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Healthcare professionals and facilities are facing challenges, unlike anything in our modern medical history. They put themselves at risk each day while facing workforce shortages, inadequate safety supplies, and insufficient information or changing guidance from federal, state, and local government officials. Despite this, they continue to go above and beyond, doing everything possible to treat the sick and bring comfort to others, often without regard to their own personal wellbeing.

At the same time our healthcare professionals and facilities are answering the call to service, they are simultaneously threatened with future lawsuits based on circumstances that were beyond their control.

That’s why Congress must now act to provide them relief from the threat of lawsuits. Taking action to protect these professionals and facilities, as well as the patients they serve, is in the Nation’s best interest.

But we need your help! Please take a moment to urge members of Congress to follow the lead of several states, and immediately adopt legislation that provides health care professionals and facilities ​civil liability immunity ​for their good faith efforts to treat patients during the COVID-19 response.

Action at the federal level would provide a uniform level of protection and avoid the situation whereby a patchwork of liability laws across the country would lead to unequal treatment of our frontline healthcare providers and facilities during this national crisis.

Patients and physicians can click the links below to let their members of Congress — in both the House and the Senate — know how important it is to preserve continued access to medical care during this unprecedented time. This will allow healthcare providers and facilities to focus on the task at hand of helping those affected by the outbreak without having to worry about the threat of lawsuits.

Thank you for your continued support of medical liability reform.

Physicians: Take Action

Patients: Take Action

April 13, 2020 by matray

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara ordered insurance companies to return insurance premiums to consumers and businesses and provide much-needed financial relief during the COVID-19 emergency. The Commissioner's Bulletin covers premiums paid for at least the months of March and April — including the month of May if “shelter in place” restrictions continue — in at least six different insurance lines: private passenger automobile, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, commercial multi-peril, commercial liability, medical malpractice and any other insurance line where the risk of loss has fallen substantially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Commissioner's Bulletin requires insurance companies to provide a premium credit, reduction, return of premium or other appropriate premium adjustment as soon as possible, and no later than August 2020.

A premium refund will not require prior approval by the Department of Insurance if an insurance company follows certain methods outlined in the Commissioner’s Bulletin, such as using an average percentage based on estimated change in risk or exposure. Consumers will also have the opportunity to provide their individual actual or estimated experience to their insurance company.

Commissioner Lara also ordered insurance companies to report back to the Department of Insurance all premium refunds they have issued or expect to issue within 60 days, in order to provide oversight and ensure companies are complying with the Bulletin.

April 10, 2020 by matray

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker filed legislation to provide healthcare workers and facilities protections from civil liability while they are on the front lines of the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 response.

The legislation would protect healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians, as well as certain healthcare facilities from liability and suit when the care that they provide is impacted by the COVID-19 emergency. The bill would also provide protections for the health workers staffing the unique Field Medical Stations being stood up at the DCU Center, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and other locations.

“Ensuring that our healthcare workers have the resources and protections they need has been a top priority for our administration since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Gov. Baker said. “This legislation offers important protections for health care workers and facilities facing the unprecedented challenges that come with the outbreak of this virus, and we look forward to working with our legislative partners to enact this bill and take another step in our efforts to support the Commonwealth’s medical system.

“Massachusetts is blessed to be home to some of the world’s best healthcare workers and institutions, and it’s important that the fear of liability does not prevent them from delivering the kind of medical response we need during this pandemic,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “We look forward to working with our colleagues in the Legislature to enact this bill and further support our healthcare system during this emergency.”

Gov. Baker also issued a directive that will maximize protections for healthcare workers under the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (“PREP Act”) during the state of emergency. The directive will ensure that healthcare workers and facilities that distribute and administer testing, drugs and medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 are protected from suit and liability to the maximum extent possible under the PREP Act.

Click below to read today’s legislation and directive:

• Liability Protection Legislation Filing Letter


• Liability Protection Legislation


• Governor’s PREP Act Directive

April 6, 2020 by matray

Under an executive order, dentists are considered essential healthcare providers and are encouraged to sign up to join the California Health Corps, a newly launched statewide effort to prepare the healthcare delivery system to respond to a potential surge in COVID-19 patients by opening additional healthcare sites. Registered dental hygienists and dental assistants can also register to join the effort. Recruits will be financially compensated and provided malpractice insurance coverage for the care they provide.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order allows for another 50,000 hospital beds at minimum for the state’s healthcare facilities. It also temporarily maximizes the number of available and qualified healthcare workers who can staff the additional beds or relieve frontline personnel by caring for individuals who need treatment for conditions other than COVID-19. Respiratory therapists, medical assistants, public health professionals, medical retirees and other healthcare professionals are needed in addition to dental professionals.

“If you have a background in healthcare, we need your help,” Gov. Newsom said in the news release. In times of catastrophic emergencies, flexibility on scope of practice and licensure is allowed under California law. Those changes in state law were made after 9/11.

Register to join California’s emergency staffing
Dentists and other interested healthcare professionals can visit the California Health Corps website for complete eligibility details and to register to join California’s emergency staffing response to the coronavirus outbreak. After California Health Corps verifies a candidate’s registration and California license for clinical practice (if it applies), Health Corps will ask the candidate to submit an application to complete the process and determine skills, experience, location preferences and interests prior to hiring and deployment.

Dentists’ skills can be used in the state’s fight against COVID-19 in many ways, including:

• Taking vital signs.
• Testing for COVID-19.
• Triaging patients.
• Administering oxygen.
• Administering injectables, including vaccinations.
• Writing prescriptions.
• Intubating and providing deep sedation or general anesthesia services – applies to oral surgeons and dentist anesthesiologists only.

Assigned staffing locations will vary according to the highest need in the state, but California Health Corps said it will try to match applicants’ geographical preferences. The executive order comes as hospitals and medical centers in New York are already experiencing a patient surge along with the problems associated with dwindling capacity and staffing.

“California must continue to prepare our healthcare delivery system and make sure it has every resource to respond to a potential surge in COVID-19 patients,” said Mark Ghaly, MD, secretary of California Health & Human Services. “California’s most valuable resource is its people and I join the Governor in calling on all medical professionals to join the fight against COVID-19.”

Register to join California’s expanded workforce. For more COVID-19 news and resources, including future updates about the Health Care Corps initiative, visit cda.org/covid19.

April 6, 2020 by matray

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced the creation of a new volunteer corps for California healthcare workers who want to help during the COVID-19 outbreak. The new program —California Health Corps — is open to physicians (both active and retired), medical students and a wide range of healthcare professionals and administrative staff.

Participants will be paid and will be given malpractice insurance coverage.

At the press conference, Newsom was joined by San Francisco pediatrician Shannon Udovic-Constant, MD, vice-chair of the California Medical Association (CMA) Board of Trustees, who urged all medical professionals who can assist to answer the call during this crisis. Udovic-Constant noted that many physicians are struggling during the outbreak, including hundreds who have had to close their practices or furlough employees. But that has not deterred hundreds of physicians, medical students and residents from offering their assistance.

“Many of us were drawn to careers in medicine because of the opportunity to help others. Now, we are asking all medical professionals – physicians, nurses, physician assistants, other medical staff members – to join us and helping California through this surge,” Udovic-Constant said. “For many of us, that means stepping outside our comfort zone. But we are calling on the spirit of health care workers across California to continue to step up and help serve the patients of our state.”

Hundreds of physicians, residents and medical students have already reached out to CMA offering their expertise and assistance during the crisis. CMA will continue to work with state leaders about how best to deploy those who have offered to help. For more information on how you can volunteer, please visit healthcorps.ca.gov.

April 6, 2020 by matray

As part of ongoing efforts to support our dedicated physicians throughout New York, MLMIC Insurance Co. is extending medical professional liability coverage – without requiring any new premium – to retired physicians who were last insured with MLMIC and are coming back as volunteers to provide care during the COVID-19 pandemic. MLMIC defines “volunteer,” in this case, as a retired physician providing professional services for no fee, salary or other compensation with the exception of reimbursement for expenses incurred delivering those services. Qualifying physicians may apply online.

The coverage limits of the medical professional liability offered to these volunteers will be the same as they held when actively practicing prior to retirement and when last insured by MLMIC. Coverage also includes defense costs if a claim is filed against them while volunteering. In addition, if the returning physician previously held regulatory defense coverage, it will be provided for actions resulting from volunteer professional services. There is no new premium for this coverage, which is included through physicians’ expired policies without impact upon any presently existing tail policies.

New York physicians can access this information at https://www.mlmic.com/covid-19/returning-physicians. To request coverage, interested volunteers can apply online or call (800) ASK-MLMIC (1-800-275-6564) and ask for Underwriting.