NY State Senate Bill 2015-S2133

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, 2016	referred to insurance
Jan 21, 2015	referred to insurance

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance
Laws Affected:: Amd §18, Chap 266 of 1986
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S4446
2013-2014: S3454

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Lowers the 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.

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S2133

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 § 15 of Part C of
Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2011) 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.

JUSTIFICATION: The Excess Medical Malpractice Liability Insurance
Coverage program was created in 1996 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/$3.M 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 60.  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 2009-10: S.2959 Insurance Committee 2011-12: S.4446
Insurance Committee 2013-14: S.3454 Insurance Committee

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  2133

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 21, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sen. FLANAGAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed 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 18 of part B of chapter 60 of the laws  of  2014,  is
amended to read as follows:
  (a)  The  superintendent  of  [insurance]  FINANCIAL  SERVICES 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  cover-
age,  as  authorized 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 actually 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, 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

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD05300-01-5

S. 2133                             2

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, between July 1, 2010
and June 30, 2011, between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, between  July
1,  2012  and June 30, 2013, between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, and
between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015 or reimburse the  hospital  where
the hospital purchases equivalent excess coverage as defined in subpara-
graph  (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, between July 1, 2010
and June 30, 2011, between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, between  July
1,  2012  and June 30, 2013, between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, and
between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015 for physicians or dentists certi-
fied as eligible for each such period or periods pursuant to subdivision
2 of this section by a general hospital licensed pursuant 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 coverage for such
occurrences or be endorsed  as  additional  insureds  under  a  hospital
professional  liability  policy  which  is  offered  through a voluntary
attending physician ("channeling") program previously permitted  by  the
superintendent  of  [insurance]  FINANCIAL SERVICES during the period of
such excess coverage 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 malpractice 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

S. 2133                             3

coverage  in excess of one million dollars for each claimant shall be in
an amount of not less than the 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 cover-
age, 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 claimants for such occur-
rences shall be effective April 1, 2002.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S2133

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Actions

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Details

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

John J. Flanagan

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Actions

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Details

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2015-S2133 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments