Some doctors opt out of insurance – and can leave their patients in the cold

People commonly assume that the doctor or surgeon they are seeing is insured against medical errors. The truth is that may well not be the case. You may not know it, but malpractice insurance is not mandatory for Washington physicians. Applicants for physicians’ licenses or renewals must file a report of liability claim payments, but no proof of liability insurance. So, what happens if medical professionals are allowed to exploit the rules and put their patients at grave financial risk?

Florida happens to make it easy for providers to practice without insurance and skirt their responsibilities if a claim is made against them. Providers ostensibly have to disclose to their patients that they are uninsured and they must agree to satisfy any judgment against them up to $250,000. Reporters for USA Today further discovered that uninsured physicians were 44% more likely to have been disciplined, and were more likely to have committed criminal offenses. So their malpractice rates go up because of a claim, and the providers find it more financially appealing to go without insurance. Then, bad actor providers will put their property in the names of family members and use the bankruptcy laws to their advantage, leaving plaintiffs with substantial judgments out in the cold.

It is always worth it to a) get a second opinion and b) check up on prospective medical providers through the MQAC credential search. Note that the MQAC search does not indicate whether the provider is insured.  Nevertheless, you may find something that makes your spider sense tingle, and that may be just enough to go with someone else.

Read USA Today’s coverage here: When plastic surgery goes wrong, patients are left to pay for uninsured doctors’ mistakes

The MQAC credential search is here: Provider Credential Search