The New York State Senate yesterday approved legislation that, according to its sponsor, would bring down the cost of medical malpractice insurance if enacted.
Under the measure sponsored by Sen. John Flanagan, R-Northport, the level of primary medical malpractice coverage required of a physician or dentist to qualify for the New York Excess Medical Malpractice Liability Insurance Coverage Program would be lowered by 6 percent.
Passed on a 35-26 voted, the measure is now with the Assembly.
A spokesman for Mr. Flanagan, Robert Caroppoli, said the senator has had conversations with a few Democratic Assembly members, whose party controls that house, and they have expressed interest in the measure.
Changing the primary requirement would lower malpractice insurance premiums by an estimated 6 percent across New York State, according to a statement from Sen. Flanagan.
That reduction, he said, would help ease the insurance burden faced by health care providers and protect New York residents from higher insurance rates and from "losing the doctors who they trust and need."
Sen. Flanagan warned, "Malpractice insurance rates are pushing doctors out of our state and, if it continues, that will have a negative impact on the health care system. This measure will provide the first real malpractice premium reduction in years and will allow health care providers to keep practicing in our state. That is vital to the health of our residents and the long-term stability of our economy."
The state's Excess Medical Malpractice Liability Insurance Coverage Program was created in 1986 to help stabilize the cost of medical malpractice liability insurance.
Funding for the program has been altered several times and in 2002 was made a component of the Health Care Reform Act (HCRA). Along with this switch, the required level of primary medical malpractice coverage that a physician or dentist must have in force in order to be eligible for Excess coverage was increased.
According to the senator, this change led to approximately 6 percent increases in the cost of primary medical malpractice coverage to physicians and dentists. His legislation would return the primary coverage back to its pre-2002 levels and would reduce physician and dentists primary medical malpractice premiums by that same 6 percent.
Mr. Flanagan noted that in 2007, the State Insurance Department approved a 14 percent rate increase which followed increases of over 7 percent in every year since 2003.
"This legislation will help lower the cost of practicing medicine throughout our state, and that will benefit everyone."
Last month New York physicians demonstrated at the state capitol, concerned about what they said was a potential surcharge in malpractice insurance premiums of $50,000, in addition to a projected premium increase.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.