Presidio Insurance Solutions is your West coast access point to obtain a quote or additional information about the Ortho-Preferred program. Contact us at (800)317-6411.

The insurance industry has only recently come of age in recognizing this trend and offering coverage for alternative medicine.  Presidio has been at the forefront of this emerging medical malpractice insurance trend.  We have a variety of Alternative medicine coverage options - including medical malpratice insruance coverage for physicians and naturopaths offering hormone replacement therapy, HCG weight loss, accupuncture, medical marijuana consulting, B12 and other vitamin injections, IV therapy including the Myers cocktail, and erectile dysfunction programs.

Policy options include stand-alone policies for a facility or add-on coverage for exsiting facilities such as medical offices or medi-spas.  Traditional medical malpractice carriers geneally DO NOT extend coverage for many of these types of procedures.  Traditional medical practices offering any alternative therapies are urged to check with their insurance broker as its very common for this NOT to be covered!

We would be happy to review your current insurance coverage and make suggestions about how to better protect your practice with medical malpractice, dental malpractice and med-spa insurance.

Ortho-Preferred® is the only nationwide professional liability (medical malpractice) insurance program that is designed exclusively to meet the needs of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

ORTHO-PREFRRED® Program Highlights:

• Extremely competitive premiums with coverage capabilities in all 50 states

• Professional Liability Insurance Program custom designed solely for Orthopedic Surgeons

• Courtesy access to specialized risk management courses and orthopaedic education training opportunities, including Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements

• Includes complimentary membership in Western Orthopaedic Association

• Oversight on claim trends, risk prevention and medical education from top national orthopaedic leaders as part of the RPG’s Orthopaedic Advisory Board

Coverage highlights:

• Physician policyholder retains absolute right to refuse case settlement
• Claims-made and Occurrence (built-in tail) policies available
• 1 year vesting for retirement tail (policy terms and conditions apply)

Carrier Highlights:
• A++ (superior) AM Best Rating and AA+ S&P rating
• Founded in 1899, operating in California since 1924
• 92% average trial win ratio; 80% claims closed without payment

Contact: Gisela Smith (805)499-7300

To our surprise, coverage through The Doctors Company was denied.  The basis of the declination was the insurance company’s underwriting opinion that the MILD procedures was a “surgical” procedure and not included in the scope of practice for a pain management physician.  Assuming the easy solution entailed simply increasing the medical specialty classification to one the underwriter agreed included this exposure (in other words: higher premiums), a request was made to change the medical specialty classification.  This request was also denied as the carrier’s underwriter opined the procedure was intended to be performed by surgeons only and thereby they would not extend coverage under any circumstances.

The next step was to determine if other carriers might be able to extend the coverage for the client to perform the MILD procedures while maintaining the same or better coverage and pricing already in place.  After several inquiries and submissions and many, many conversations explaining the procedure, coverage was offered with another insurance company willing to extend coverage for the doctor to perform the MILD procedure within his practice.  All in all the additional premium to the doctor is $1,500 per year to include the MILD procedure.  A satisfactory result for all those involved.

As always, it is wise to contact your qualified medical malpractice insurance broker to determine whether you have the coverage you need.  Never assume your medical malpractice insurance covers you for any new procedures, contracts, locations or healthcare providers. As a matter of course, we will always look for the best coverage at the best price by querying several sources for you. We do all the running around so you can concentrate on what it is you do!

Presidio is the leading liability insurance broker serving the needs of the medispa industry. We pride ourselves on providing the best service in the industry. So, call us today and lets talk about your situation. We are here to help!

If you don’t, then here’s something that might help lessen the tax pain a bit.  This is just a summary based on my recollection (and I have only enough info to be dangerous), so ask your CPA during your own arduous tax planning session for all the details…

HIRE ACT – - This tax credit saves you the 6.2% in payroll tax you pay for employer matching of social security – for qualified employees hired February 3rd and before December 31st who have been unemployed or employed for 40 hours or less during the 60 day period ending on the date the new employment begins.  They cannot be employed to replace another employee unless the other employee left voluntarily or was terminated for cause. The credit is for the 6.2% matching of social security for the period of March 19 through December 31.  The employee must sign an affidavit indicating they are eligible for the credit (the IRS has Form W-11 which you can use).

If you keep the employee for 52 consecutive weeks, you are eligible for up to $1000 credit in 2011.

SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE TAX CREDIT – - This is a very complex credit but in a nutshell if you have fewer than 25 employees, with average wages of less than $50k, and you paid for 50% of the health insurance, it appears you qualify for a tax credit (beginning in 2010).

This was the hope back in the day when IPAs touted improved patient delivery systems.  In the case of IPAs favorable claim outcomes never materialized.  Will the same happen with ACOs?  Time will tell but in the interim we are working to take advantage of the possibility of lower rates from the nations best companies by developing group purchasing programs for our ACO clients.

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The aggregate limit for a physician with separate limits is $50,000; for an entity with separate limits, $50,000 to $250,000, based on group size. DataShield™ covers costs for:

• Information & network security liability — Protection against claims alleging unauthorized release of personal information, violations of information privacy law, or unauthorized use of/access to your computer system.
• Media liability — Protection against claims arising from material published on a Web site, in ads, etc., including allegations of libel, slander, copyright infringement, or patent violations.
• Regulatory privacy proceedings & regulatory fines & penalties — Coverage for defense of HIPAA violations, state information privacy law violations, etc; and for certain related fines and penalties.
• Customer notification & credit monitoring expenses — Coverage for expenses incurred through information breaches, including costs of notifying affected parties and providing them with credit monitoring services.
• Electronic data recovery & replacement expenses — Coverage for expenses incurred to recover or replace electronic data lost or damaged because of a computer virus, hacking or other system invasion.

Each of the five areas of coverage has its own $50,000 aggregate limit, subject to a $50,000 total aggregate limit.

Consider securing coverage that allow for some flexibility in the rating base to better accommodate individual and group needs.  For example, Medical Protective offers an occurrence-based, group policy that allows for a built-in tail if turn-over is likely.  The Doctors Company on the other hand can offer a group FTE policy with individual physician limits.  As yet another option, various companies are willing to offer a per encounter policy – though the drawback is the possibility of an audit billing at year end.

The coverage options are varied and complex and worth taking the time to understand.  In the end, intensivists MUST consider price, coverage, and carrier stability or face the risk of unexpected insurance expenses over the long haul.

Presidio Insurance Solutions – the experts in medical malpractice insurance solutions.

www.PresidioInsurance.com