Skilled Nursing Care Insurance
How Does Skilled Nursing Care Insurance Work?
Whether or not we want to think about it, medical malpractice is a reality and plays a part in the current medical system. It has been estimated that about 25% of all the doctors in the United States are sued each year. Therefore, it’s important for members of the medical community to understand the different types of medical malpractice insurance available, considerations when purchasing skilled nursing care insurance, and what happens during the claims process.
Different Types of Medical Malpractice.
The following are the four main types of coverage that are available through most insurance carriers:
Claims-Made Coverage – This type of medical malpractice insurance covers incidents that happen while the policy is active. A claim has to be filed while the policy is active or the incident will not be covered. If a doctor decides to cancel his/her policy or switches insurance carriers, the policy will not cover any future claims – even if the incident occurred during the policy period. Generally speaking, a claim consists of a written demand, but may also include written or verbal announcements of a claim.
Prior Acts – This is also known as “nose” coverage; A type of supplemental coverage that covers any claims that may arise when your claims-made policy is non-renewed or canceled.
Tail Coverage – This type of supplemental coverage is available when your claims-made policy is non-renewed or canceled. Tail coverage continued insurance protection under your claims-made policy for claims that may come up in the future but happened while your policy was still active.
Occurrence Coverage – This type of medical malpractice insurance offers permanent coverage for incidents that occur during the policy period, even if they are reported after the policy expires or is canceled. Occurrence coverage is more expensive than the other types of insurance because it is hard to determine future liability or claims.
Things to Consider When Purchasing Malpractice Insurance
If this is your first time to shop for Skilled Nursing Care Insurance, you should know that malpractice insurance policies are not the same. If anything, you should be aware of what is and what is not covered under any policy. There is insurance that will only provide coverage for direct patient care and will not cover care outside of a certain geographical area.
Other policies will cover all work-related functions or activities outside of patient care such as supervision of residents, committee work, or volunteer work. It’s important to communicate to your insurance broker or insurance provider all the different types of activities you will be performing and to find a policy that suits your specific needs.
Another important consideration is that insurance carriers vary in the way that they are structured, plus they offer different types of services. Just because one company offers a certain policy doesn’t mean another company is going to offer the same thing.
Any skilled nursing care professional providing care to patients would be well-suited to purchase medical malpractice insurance. Practicing any branch of health care can bring with it unintended lawsuits from angry patients or grieving family members. While not all medical malpractice lawsuits are found in favor of the patient, there are still court costs and attorney’s fees that can be quite costly to the medical provider. Having adequate skilled nursing care insurance to cover these costs is in the best interest of all medical specialists.