The rate of the annual surcharges that physicians and hospitals must pay into Indiana’s Patient Compensation Fund (PCF) will decrease for the first time in seven years in 2019-2020, the Indiana Department of Insurance (IDOI) announced.

For medical malpractice policies written or renewed on or after July 1, 2019, the following will apply:

• For physicians, the surcharge rate will decrease by 10.9 percent.
• For hospitals, the surcharge rate will decrease by 12.3 percent.

The PCF is a dedicated fund administered by the IDOI, created in 1975 by the Indiana General Assembly as a component of the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act. The fund provides excess compensation for patients who have experienced medical malpractice, in addition to the recovery of compensation from a defendant health care provider.

The PCF is funded via a surcharge paid as part of a health care provider’s liability insurance premium. The amount of surcharge each physician pays is based on the risk associated with that physician’s specialty.

According to the IDOI, the decrease was recommended based on a gradual decrease in the number of petitions for excess damages filed over the past few years, along with a concurrent decrease in the total amounts paid on settlements and trial judgments. It is the first decrease in surcharge rates since 2012 and will result in an overall savings of about $20 million, the IDOI said.

To read IDOI Bulletin 247, visit www.ismanet.org/pdf/PCF247.pdf.