Medical malpractice insurance assistance.

WORKING DRAFT
2006
STATE OF
WYOMING
06LSO-0440

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0173

Medical liability insurance assistance.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Osborn, Cohee, Harvey, Iekel, Lubnau and Meuli and Senator(s) Barrasso,
Jennings
, Massie, Ross and Sessions

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to providing medical care and services; stating legislative findings; establishing a medical liability insurance assistance account; providing for the payment of a portion of physician medical liability premiums as specified; providing definitions; specifying duties of the insurance commissioner; granting rulemaking authority; providing a sunset date; providing appropriations; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W.S. 26
‑
33
‑
201 through 26
‑
33
‑
206 are created to read:

ARTICLE 2
MEDICAL LIABILITY INSURANCE ASSISTANCE FUND

26
‑
33
‑
201.

Legislative findings.

(a)

The
Wyoming
legislature finds that:

(i)

Physicians' medical liability insurance premiums in
Wyoming
are increasing significantly. These increases are such that some
Wyoming
physicians may be unable to afford the increased premiums and may be forced to limit or close their practices, or in some cases, to leave the state;

(ii)

Wyoming
has difficulty recruiting and retaining sufficient numbers of physicians to practice in various parts of the state;

(iii)

Sufficient availability of physicians throughout the state is critical to the access of medical care for all
Wyoming
citizens, but particularly individuals under the Wyoming Medical Assistance and Services Act and the Wyoming Uninsured Child Health Insurance Program;

(iv)

Ensuring the availability of adequate medical care to
Wyoming
citizens is a compelling interest of the state; and

(v)

The availability of adequate medical care to
Wyoming
citizens is threatened without implementation of the terms of this act.

(b)

The legislature determines that the payments contemplated by this act are necessary support of the poor as authorized in Article 16, Section 6 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(c)

The legislature further determines that the payments contemplated by this act are necessary to support the compelling state interests of ensuring the availability of adequate medical care, encouraging physicians to offer medical care in
Wyoming
's communities, and encouraging physicians to provide medical care to needy and poor persons.

26
‑
33
‑
202.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this article:

(i)

"Qualified physician" means an individual who:

(A)

Is a duly licensed physician under Title 33, Chapter 26, Article 3 of the Wyoming statutes, is in good standing with the Wyoming Board of Medicine,
has been licensed and practicing in the state for not less than one (1) year
and whose license is under no disciplinary restrictions, limitations or conditions during the period for which he is under contract with the state as provided in this article;

(B)

Is actively engaged in the full or part time practice of medicine within the state of
Wyoming
during the entire contract period for which the physician seeks assistance under this article;

(C)

Possesses and maintains in force a policy of medical professional liability insurance with minimum limits of coverage of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) per occurrence and three million dollars ($3,000,000.00) in the aggregate;

(D)

Has entered into a contract with the state agreeing to provide medical care for the period through June 30, 2009 to any
Wyoming
resident who is qualified under the Wyoming Medical Assistance and Services Act or the Wyoming Uninsured Child Health Insurance Program and who seeks medical care which the physician is qualified to provide.

26
‑
33
‑
203.

Management of the fund.

(a)

There is created a medical liability insurance assistance account. Funds in the account shall be used as provided in this article for a premium assistance program for medical professional liability insurance policies issued by authorized insurers.

(b)

The account and any investment income earned from the account shall be held in trust and invested and reinvested by the state treasurer pursuant to W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
711.

(c)

The commissioner shall oversee the administration and management of the account created by this article. The commissioner's duties shall include, but are not limited to:

(i)

Fulfilling the purposes and objectives of this article;

(ii)

Minimizing transaction costs and administrative expenses of this article;

(iii)

Providing the staff, resources and administrative support necessary to implement this article; and

(iv)

Submitting reports on or before October 1 of each year this article is in effect to the joint labor, health and social services interim committee, the joint appropriations committee and the governor, reporting the status of the account, payments made, estimated future expenditures of the account and the effectiveness of this article in maintaining medical care for the needy, the poor and other residents of the state's communities.

26
‑
33
‑
204.

Account administration.

(a)

Commencing July 1, 2006, and continuing through June 30, 2009, a qualified physician is eligible for medical liability insurance assistance payments as provided in this article.

(b)

Assistance payments on behalf of qualified physicians shall:

(i)

Offset twenty-five percent (25%) of the cost of a qualified physician's annual medical liability insurance premiums for the coverage described in W.S. 26
‑
33
‑
202(a)(i)(C);

(ii)

Not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000.00) per year during the period of a contract specified in W.S. 26
‑
33
‑
202(a)(i)(D);

(iii)

Be made only for the benefit of a qualified physician's medical liability insurance premium during the period of the contract and shall not be made for any other purpose or use, including any premium for tail coverage.

(c)

The commissioner shall have authority to adopt rules and regulations to implement this article. Pursuant to those rules and regulations, the commissioner shall determine the information a qualified physician must provide to qualify for payments under this article and shall create forms to collect the required information. The information submitted by a qualifying physician to the commissioner shall not be open to public inspection
.

(d)

A physician who receives assistance for medical liability insurance under this section may, upon full reimbursement including interest to the medical liability insurance premium account for the assistance received in a contract period, cancel the contract at any time.

(e)

If funding available from the account created under this article is insufficient to pay the amount of insurance premium assistance authorized in subsection (b) of this section for all qualified applicants, the commissioner shall give priority to qualified physicians serving in areas where primary care services are most severely restricted, as determined by the department of health.

(f)

The names of physicians receiving payments under this article and the amounts of those payments shall be a matter of public record, but all other information submitted by physicians to the commissioner pursuant to this article shall be confidential.

26
‑
33
‑
205.

Contract enforcement.

(a)

The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for administration of contracts required under this article and shall also promulgate the form of contract required under this article.

(b)

Any qualified physician who receives assistance under this article, or who has entered into a contract under this article, who thereafter fails or refuses to fulfill the terms of the contract, shall be in breach of the contract, and shall immediately reimburse the state for any and all payments received under this article. The provisions of this subsection shall be incorporated in any contract entered into pursuant to this article.

(c)

The commissioner shall obtain the assistance of the attorney general in recovering any amount due to the state in the event of any contract breach by a qualified physician.

(d)

In the event of any contract breach by a qualified physician, the physician shall also be liable to the state for interest from and after the date of default and for reasonable costs of collection, including attorney's fees. The commissioner shall establish the default interest rate by rule and regulation.

26
‑
33
‑
206.

Repeal; continuing authority.

(a)

W.S. 26
‑
33
‑
201 through 26
‑
33
‑
206 are repealed effective June 30, 2009.

(b)

Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the insurance commissioner may seek recoupment of assistance provided under this article, interest and costs for any breach of contract that occurs as a result of a contract executed under this article, subject to any limitations that may apply under title 1, chapter 3 of the
Wyoming
statutes.

Section 2.

W.S. 26
‑
33
‑
101 through 26-33-111 are repealed.

Section 3.

(a)

There is appropriated to the
medical insurance liability account
six
million dollars ($6,000,000.00) from the budget reserve account for payments to qualified physicians as provided in this act.
Any unexpended or unobligated funds remaining in the
account
at the end of the biennium on June 30, 2006
or on June 30, 2008
shall not lapse and shall not revert as provided in W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
207.

(b)

There is appropriated to the insurance department
one
hundred
fifty
thousand dollars ($150,000.00) from the budget reserve account for the purpose of administering this act for the biennium commencing July 1, 2006.

Section 4.

This act is effective immediately upon co
m
pletion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constit
u
tion.

(END)

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HB0173