Medical malpractice insurance

Medical malpractice insurance protects physicians against lawsuits by patients for treatment or surgery. In 2007, it was reported that the average internist pays $74,855 per year and the average general surgeons pays $299,420 per year in medical malpractice insurance.[1]

States that require medical malpractice insurance for licensure are:[2]

* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Georgia (for optometrists who use drugs)
* Kansas
* Massachusetts
* New Jersey
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* Wisconsin

Florida requires physicians to prove that they can pay a $250,000 award. New Jersey has no statutory requirement, but the Board of Medical Examiners insists on coverage of $1 million per case and $3 million per year. Ohio lacks a statutory requirement, but imposes an administrative rule mandating that any physician lacking malpractice insurance must have signed consent by all non-emergency patients agreeing to treatment by a physician who lacks malpractice insurance.

States that require medical malpractice insurance in order for a physician to benefit from an awards caps are:

* Indiana
* Louisiana
* Nebraska
* Nevada (this state does not appear on some lists)
* New Mexico
* New York (this state does not appear on some lists)
* Wyoming

States that require medical malpractice insurance as a condition of holding hospital privileges:

* Missouri

## References[edit]

1. ↑ See "Hospital not liable for uninsured doctor" by Amy Lynn Sorrel, AMNews June 18, 2007.
2. ↑ This list is from 2012, and may change from time to time. Please check the most current laws before making a decision.