ER physicians paying their own malpractice insurance?

[deleted813736]

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I recently came across a job listing in the Southern US that is a 1099 job. I talked to the recruiter and they noted that I would pay my own malpractice insurance. Does anyone have any experience with this and an estimate on how much that would cost either yearly/monthly? I have no clue where to start and a quick google search shows the ER average is 30k a year?? Was hoping someone had more experience with this and a more accurate value.

 

[thegenius]

I recently came across a job listing in the Southern US that is a 1099 job. I talked to the recruiter and they noted that I would pay my own malpractice insurance. Does anyone have any experience with this and an estimate on how much that would cost either yearly/monthly? I have no clue where to start and a quick google search shows the ER average is 30k a year?? Was hoping someone had more experience with this and a more accurate value.

I have no clue. But that job better pay significantly more than the average job if you are going to pay your own malpractice. At least 30-50/hr more. I would never take an RVU job where I have to pay my own insurance.

 

[southerndoc]

I wish I could pay my own malpractice. Means I could shop around and get more coverage if I wanted. Typically most insurance policies average around $5-8 per patient. If you average 2.5/hr you would need an additional $20-25/hr to cover your malpractice. Don't let them take advantage of you though. Ideally, it should pay $75-100/hr more than usual.

 

[3rdJob]

Yeah, the 'paying your own malpractice' is a hard stop. Makes me think: (1) it's a BAD malpractice environment wherever the gig is, (2) the hospital is not good, and (3) fly-by-night staffing company. Nope....Just my $0.02.

 

[EctopicFetus]

I have been very involved in this. It is state dependent. Generally for full time em it’s about 15k for a 1/3, 19k for a 3/5 and 22k for 5/7 and tail is about 2 years of those premiums. Premiums start lower and creep up to baseline over 2 years.

If your 1099 is a cmg many just charge you an hourly fee. Usually $12-15/hr ( gotta profit everywhere).

 

[Vandalia]

A few things:

If you can find the mpRVU for your location, and for the typical CPT codes, that will give you a pretty good idea for what malpractice insurance will cost. Since it is based on actual data, it is a bit dated, but premiums usually don't change that abruptly. In other words, you had better get at least the mpRVU added to the wRVU to determine the additional compensation that will be required.

Also, the more malpractice insurance you have, the more you will be sued for. Attorneys want that check from the insurer and to move on to the next case. 99% of cases eventually settle for the insurance limit or less. Even when the jury comes back with a humongous verdict, they want their cash then, not to spend three years battling it out in appellate court. They settle. Or even better, go after the deep pockets of the hospital. The one advantage of hospital or corporate employment is that there is a growing trend of the physician not even being named.

 

[EctopicFetus]

A few things:

If you can find the mpRVU for your location, and for the typical CPT codes, that will give you a pretty good idea for what malpractice insurance will cost. Since it is based on actual data, it is a bit dated, but premiums usually don't change that abruptly. In other words, you had better get at least the mpRVU added to the wRVU to determine the additional compensation that will be required.

Also, the more malpractice insurance you have, the more you will be sued for. Attorneys want that check from the insurer and to move on to the next case. 99% of cases eventually settle for the insurance limit or less. Even when the jury comes back with a humongous verdict, they want their cash then, not to spend three years battling it out in appellate court. They settle. Or even better, go after the deep pockets of the hospital. The one advantage of hospital or corporate employment is that there is a growing trend of the physician not even being named.

In many states the limit of your policy is not discoverable.