UPDATE - Aetna's WC contracting efforts
An alert reader from Aetna called me to correct what looks like a misinterpretation by several docs in Florida. According to this individual, Aetna's requirement for med mal is $250,000 per occurence; the million dollar level (mentioned in the original post) is for general liability. This is not what I heard from some of the docs Aetna has been recruiting; looks like there's a "failure to communicate..."
From sources in the Sunshine State comes news that Aetna is attempting to contract with docs as part of their effort to build a workers' compensation provider network. The lack of affordable med mal insurance in Florida is well-documented; in some counties docs are "going bare"; working without any med mal coverage at all.
Comments
When I was working in credentialing, 1M per occurrence/3M aggregate was the standard coverage amount required by almost all of the oversight boards like NCQA and URAC. We did have a big problem getting psychiatrists in Florida and West Virginia because of malpractice issues, but our accreditation depended on signing only MDs with those coverage limits.
Aetna probably had the same concerns in mind when they set their coverage limits. I wonder how much leeway plans are given by the Quality organizations with affordable Malpractice Insurance so scarce in some areas.
Posted by: spike | March 2, 2006 11:41 AM
If you were the patient wouldn't you want to be sure that the provider you were being referred to had adequate coverage? Sure it’s tuff to get insurance but does that mean that it’s ok to go without? This problem is not Aetna's or the rest of the Insurance industries. It belongs to the Lawyers and the legislators who allow these out of control lawsuits to go on, and on, and on….
Posted by: Bruce Nash | March 6, 2006 10:10 AM