Kansas is one of a handful of states in our country that has a state run medical malpractice insurance fund, known as the Health Care Stabilization Fund, which provides excess medical liability insurance coverage for defined health care providers. All physicians and surgeons, including medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy, with an active Kansas medical license and a physicians Kansas domiciled office, clinic or corporation are defined as health care providers that are required to participate in the Kansas Heath Care Stabilization Fund.
Admitted medical malpractice insurance carriers in Kansas provide just one set of primary or first dollar limits of $200,000/$600,000. This means the Kansas admitted medical liability insurance carriers cover the first $200,000 of an indemnity payment per claim, with a maximum of $600,000 aggregate of total payments per year. Admitted medical malpractice insurance carriers are backed by the state guarantee and are regulated by the Department of Insurance in their respective state.
The Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund
The Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund then acts similar to reinsurance in that it provides a second set of limits of liability that sit on top of or are secondary to the Kansas Admitted medical malpractice insurance carriers primary set of limits of liability.
The Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund provides three levels of coverage which are as follows:
- $100,000/$300,000
- $300,000/$900,000
- $800,000/$2,400,000
Applying for Medical Liability Insurance Coverage in Kansas
Physicians applying for medical liability insurance coverage do so through state approved admitted medical liability insurance carriers. Along with the completion of a medical malpractice insurance carrier’s application, there is a form that is completed by the physician for the Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund. For physicians and surgeons that are residents of the state of Kansas, the medical malpractice insurance carrier provides a quote for their basic set of limits ($200,000/$600,000) and a premium amount for the Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund excess limits of liability that the physician chooses. The physician then pays the Kansas admitted medical liability insurance carrier the premium for both. The medical malpractice insurance carrier becomes responsible for sending the Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund premium to the state. Non-resident physicians that practice in Kansas are usually responsible to send the fund’s form and premium to the state themselves. Similar to basic medical malpractice insurance coverage, the fund’s premium is based upon a physician’s specialty and years of exposure within the state.
The Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund also provides medical liability insurance tail coverage for all Kansas exposure if a tail policy is required. When a tail policy is purchased or given by the fund the chosen set of fund limits of liability drops down to be first and only coverage for the tail. If a physician practices in Kansas for five years or more and requires a tail policy, the Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund will provide a tail policy free of charge. Tail policies needed for a physician with less than fives years of exposure are not free of charge but may be purchased. Most admitted Kansas medical malpractice insurance carriers can also provide a tail policy that can be purchased but tend to cost more money than what the fund offers.
eQuoteMD is able to assist a Kansas resident doctor or non-resident doctor with the necessary forms and understanding of its coverage and complexities. You can find more information on eQuoteMD’s Kansas medical malpractice insurance state page.
