Sec. 20-11b. Professional liability insurance required. Reports from insurance companies. Exception to insurance requirement. Retired physician providing free services.
Sec. 20-11b. Professional liability insurance required. Reports from insurance companies. Exception to insurance requirement. Retired physician providing
free services. (a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, each person licensed to practice medicine and surgery under the provisions of section 20-13 who
provides direct patient care services shall maintain professional liability insurance or
other indemnity against liability for professional malpractice. The amount of insurance
which each such person shall carry as insurance or indemnity against claims for injury
or death for professional malpractice shall not be less than five hundred thousand dollars
for one person, per occurrence, with an aggregate of not less than one million five
hundred thousand dollars.
(b) Each insurance company which issues professional liability insurance, as defined in subdivisions (1), (6), (7), (8) and (9) of subsection (b) of section 38a-393, shall
on and after January 1, 1995, render to the Commissioner of Public Health a true record
of the names and addresses, according to classification, of cancellations of and refusals
to renew professional liability insurance policies and the reasons for such cancellation
or refusal to renew said policies for the year ending on the thirty-first day of December
next preceding.
(c) A person subject to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be
deemed in compliance with such subsection when providing primary health care services
at a clinic licensed by the Department of Public Health that is recognized as tax exempt
pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor
internal revenue code, as may be amended from time to time, provided: (1) Such person
is not compensated for such services; (2) the clinic does not charge patients for such
services; (3) the clinic maintains professional liability insurance coverage in the amounts
required by subsection (a) of this section for each aggregated forty hours of service or
fraction thereof for such persons; (4) the clinic carries additional appropriate professional liability coverage on behalf of the clinic and its employees in the amounts of five
hundred thousand dollars per occurrence, with an aggregate of not less than one million
five hundred thousand dollars; and (5) the clinic maintains total professional liability
coverage of not less than one million dollars per occurrence with an annual aggregate
of not less than three million dollars. Such person shall be subject to the provisions of
subsection (a) of this section when providing direct patient care services in any setting
other than such clinic. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to relieve the clinic
from any insurance requirements otherwise required by law.
(d) No person insured pursuant to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section
with a claims-made medical malpractice insurance policy shall lose the right to unlimited
additional extended reporting period coverage upon such person's permanent retirement
from practice if such person solely provides professional services without charge at a
clinic recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of said internal revenue code.
(P.A. 94-71, S. 1; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-180, S. 64, 166; P.A. 04-221, S. 30.)
History: P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-180 required addresses to be included with the
record of names in Subsec. (b), effective June 3, 1996; P.A. 04-221 added Subsec. (c) re exception from requirement to
maintain insurance and Subsec. (d) re extended reporting period coverage for retired physicians providing certain services
and made a conforming change in Subsec. (a), effective June 8, 2004.
See Sec. 17a-714a re legal protection for licensed health care professionals who prescribe opioid antagonists to drug
users.