Many doctors seem to have questions regarding the limits of liability that they need to carry for their medical liability insurance while practicing in New York. Simply put, if a doc has hospital admitting privileges in a hospital in New York, he or she needs to carry $1.3m/$3.9m limits. If they do not have admitting privileges, they can opt for the lower (and more importantly, less expensive) limits of $1m/$3m.
What Malpractice Insurance Limits Should a Doctor Choose?
However, a growing number of doctors have two completely separate practices, generally one full and one part time. If the doc admits from the full time position (maybe a hospital employed situation) but also has another practice on the side, from which he doesn’t admit, which limits does he need to choose to be protected and compliant?
In this situation, a few more questions need to be asked, mostly concerning the coverage the doctor has on the full-time position. In any situation where a doctor admits in NY, he or she needs the $1.3m/3.9m limits, and in this example the doctor would carry this limit on his or her full time position. However, in the part time position, if it does not carry admitting privileges and is completely separate from the full time practice, the doctor can carry the lower limits $1m/3m. Therefore, the doctor in this situation would carry both limits, purchasing and using them exclusively for each practice, allowing him or her to save money on medical malpractice insurance premiums by not purchasing the upper limits $1.3m/3.9m on both practices.
Special individual situations, like the one described above should be referred to a trusted, independent medical malpractice broker who can tailor programs to your individual needs. It is critically important that a physician be insured with a high quality medical liability insurance policy to protect him/her and their practice.
