NY State Senate Bill 2009-S2959

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to insurance
Mar 06, 2009	referred to insurance

co-Sponsors

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6589
Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance
Laws Affected:: Amd §18, Chap 266 of 1986

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Extends certain provisions relating to primary medical malpractice insurance coverage.

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2959

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend chapter 266 of the laws of 1986, amending the civil
practice law and rules and other laws relating to malpractice and
professional medical conduct, in relation to terms of insurance
coverage


 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :
The purpose of this bill is to amend the Excess Medical Malpractice
Liability Insurance Coverage Program (created by Chapter 266 of the
Laws of 1986) to lower the primary medical malpractice layer required
to be eligible for the Excess Program from its currently required
level of $1.3 million for each claimant/$3.9 million for all claimants
to $1M for each claimant/$3M for all claimants.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :
Section 1 of the bill amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of §18 of
Chapter 266 of the Laws of 1986 (as amended by §49 of Part A of
Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2007) to change the required level of
primary medical malpractice coverage that a physician or dentist must
have in force in order to be eligible for the NYS Excess Medical
Malpractice Liability Insurance Coverage Program. Currently the
required level is $1.3M for each claimant/$3.9M for all claimants,
this legislation would change the level to $1M for each claimant/$3M

for all claimants. The total aggregate coverage level will remain
$2.3M for each claimant/$6.9M for all claimants.

Section 2 is the effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :
The NYS Excess Medical Malpractice Liability Insurance Coverage
Program was created by Chapter 266 of the Laws of 1986 and was last
amended by §49 of Part A of Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2007.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The Excess Medical Malpractice Liability Insurance Coverage Program
was created in 1986 to help stabilize the cost of medical malpractice
liability insurance in NYS, which was already high and skyrocketing
during the mid-1980's. It was felt that such stability would be
critical to preserving access to physicians, especially high-risk
specialty care practitioners. It was feared that, without such
stability (or outright tort reform), these doctors would leave NYS
practice as a result of high premiums and malpractice litigation.

The Excess Program has been extended for varying periods (usually 1-3
years) since its inception. The funding mechanism for the program has
changed several times and in 2002 was made a component of the Health
Care Reform Act (HCRA) and funded from the HCRA Pools.  Concomitantly
with moving the funding source of the Excess Program to HCRA, 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 from $1M for each claimant/$3M for all
claimants to $1.3M for each claimant/$3.9M for all claimants. While
this lessened the premium cost that HCRA was obligated to cover and
made more funds available for other HCRA programs, it raised the cost
of primary medical malpractice coverage to physicians and dentists by
approximately 6%.

This bill would return the primary coverage requirement to its
pre-2002 level of $1M for each claimant/$3M for all claimants and is
expected to reduce physician and dentists primary medical malpractice
premiums by approximately 6% which would ease the burden that these
providers are bearing due to rapidly escalating medical malpractice
premiums.
 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
2008:  S.7038 Passed Senate/Assembly Codes Committee

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
The cost to HCRA is estimated to be between $45M and $65M.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

    S. 2959                                                  A. 6589

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                      S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y

                              March 6, 2009
                               ___________

IN  SENATE  --  Introduced  by  Sen.  FLANAGAN -- read twice and ordered
  printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Insur-
  ance

IN  ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. BALL -- read once and referred to
  the Committee on Insurance

AN ACT to amend chapter 266 of the laws  of  1986,  amending  the  civil
  practice  law  and  rules  and  other laws relating to malpractice and
  professional medical conduct, in relation to terms of insurance cover-
  age

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 18 of chapter 266
of the laws of 1986, amending the civil practice law and rules and other
laws  relating  to  malpractice  and  professional  medical  conduct, as
amended by section 23 of part B of chapter 58 of the laws  of  2008,  is
amended to read as follows:
  (a)  The superintendent of insurance and the commissioner of health or
their designee shall,  from  funds  available  in  the  hospital  excess
liability  pool  created  pursuant  to  subdivision (5) of this section,
purchase a policy or policies for excess insurance coverage, as  author-
ized by paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of section 5502 of the insurance
law; or from an insurer, other than an insurer described in section 5502
of the insurance law, duly authorized to write such coverage and actual-
ly  writing  medical  malpractice  insurance  in  this  state;  or shall
purchase equivalent excess coverage in a form previously approved by the
superintendent of insurance for purposes of providing equivalent  excess
coverage  in  accordance  with  section 19 of chapter 294 of the laws of
1985, for medical or dental malpractice occurrences between July 1, 1986
and June 30, 1987, between July 1, 1987 and June 30, 1988, between  July
1,  1988  and  June  30,  1989,  between July 1, 1989 and June 30, 1990,

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09703-01-9

S. 2959                             2                            A. 6589

between July 1, 1990 and June 30, 1991, between July 1,  1991  and  June
30,  1992,  between July 1, 1992 and June 30, 1993, between July 1, 1993
and June 30, 1994, between July 1, 1994 and June 30, 1995, between  July
1,  1995  and  June  30,  1996,  between July 1, 1996 and June 30, 1997,
between July 1, 1997 and June 30, 1998, between July 1,  1998  and  June
30,  1999,  between July 1, 1999 and June 30, 2000, between July 1, 2000
and June 30, 2001, between July 1, 2001 and June 30, 2002, between  July
1,  2002  and  June  30,  2003,  between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004,
between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005, between July 1,  2005  and  June
30,  2006,  between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007, between July 1, 2007
and June 30, 2008, between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009, between  July
1, 2009 and June 30, 2010, and between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011 or
reimburse  the  hospital  where the hospital purchases equivalent excess
coverage as defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of  subdivision
(1-a)  of  this  section  for  medical or dental malpractice occurrences
between July 1, 1987 and June 30, 1988, between July 1,  1988  and  June
30,  1989,  between July 1, 1989 and June 30, 1990, between July 1, 1990
and June 30, 1991, between July 1, 1991 and June 30, 1992, between  July
1,  1992  and  June  30,  1993,  between July 1, 1993 and June 30, 1994,
between July 1, 1994 and June 30, 1995, between July 1,  1995  and  June
30,  1996,  between July 1, 1996 and June 30, 1997, between July 1, 1997
and June 30, 1998, between July 1, 1998 and June 30, 1999, between  July
1,  1999  and  June  30,  2000,  between July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2001,
between July 1, 2001 and June 30, 2002, between July 1,  2002  and  June
30,  2003,  between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004, between July 1, 2004
and June 30, 2005, between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006, between  July
1,  2006  and  June  30,  2007,  between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008,
between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009, between July 1,  2009  and  June
30,  2010,  and between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011 for physicians or
dentists certified as eligible for each such period or periods  pursuant
to subdivision (2) of this section by a general hospital licensed pursu-
ant  to  article  28  of  the public health law; provided that no single
insurer shall write more than fifty percent of the total excess  premium
for  a  given  policy  year;  and  provided, however, that such eligible
physicians or dentists must have in force an individual policy, from  an
insurer licensed in this state of primary malpractice insurance coverage
in  amounts of no less than one million [three hundred thousand] dollars
for each claimant and three million [nine hundred thousand] dollars  for
all  claimants under that policy during the period of such excess cover-
age for such occurrences or be endorsed as additional insureds  under  a
hospital professional liability policy which is offered through a volun-
tary  attending physician ("channeling") program previously permitted by
the superintendent of insurance during the period of such excess  cover-
age  for  such  occurrences.  During such period, such policy for excess
coverage or such equivalent excess coverage shall,  when  combined  with
the  physician's  or dentist's primary malpractice insurance coverage or
coverage provided through a voluntary attending physician ("channeling")
program, total an aggregate level of two million three hundred  thousand
dollars  for each claimant and six million nine hundred thousand dollars
for all claimants from all such policies with respect to occurrences  in
each  of  such years [provided, however, if the cost of primary malprac-
tice insurance coverage in excess of one million dollars, but below  the
excess  medical malpractice insurance coverage provided pursuant to this
act, exceeds the rate of nine percent per annum, then the required level
of primary malpractice insurance  coverage  in  excess  of  one  million
dollars  for  each  claimant  shall be in an amount of not less than the

S. 2959                             3                            A. 6589

dollar amount of such coverage available at nine percent per annum;  the
required  level  of  such  coverage  for all claimants under that policy
shall be in an amount not less than three times  the  dollar  amount  of
coverage for each claimant; and excess coverage, when combined with such
primary  malpractice  insurance  coverage,  shall increase the aggregate
level for each claimant by one million dollars and three million dollars
for all claimants;] and provided further, that, with respect to policies
of primary medical malpractice coverage that include occurrences between
April 1, 2002 and June 30, 2002, such requirement that  coverage  be  in
amounts no less than one million three hundred thousand dollars for each
claimant  and three million nine hundred thousand dollars for all claim-
ants for such occurrences shall be effective April 1, 2002.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S2959

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

John J. Flanagan

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Kenneth P. LaValle

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S2959 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments