Doctors ask hospitals to help pay soaring insurance costs

Legal concerns need to be thoroughly addressed.

By Katherine Vogt, AMNews staff. Aug. 18, 2003.

Sam Creekmore, MD, had been practicing family medicine for nearly 30 years when his liability insurer abruptly exited the field in 2001, leaving him unable to get new coverage and unsure of his professional future.

Dr. Creekmore and his partners had few options in New Albany, Miss., and were limited further because carriers decided they were high-risk candidates. After much searching, the group signed with an insurer only to see it go bankrupt months later.

Left with no choice, Dr. Creekmore and his partners asked their local hospital administrator for help -- and got it. The hospital found insurance for the group. The policy was expensive, with an annual premium of about $70,000, nearly $55,000 more than Dr. Creekmore's former rate, but the hospital agreed to help pay for it, too.

"They didn't have to do it," Dr. Creekmore said. "But they've been supportive with the crisis. It's hard to get doctors to a small town in Mississippi. For sure it helps us. I hope it will help the hospital as well, and I hope it will help the community."

Experts say hospitals are increasingly stepping in to help independent physicians pay soaring liability insurance premiums. Concerned there won't be enough local physicians offering some medical services, hospitals are writing checks, creating special trust funds and changing business relationships to subsidize insurance costs. And though the arrangements can raise legal issues, experts say more and more hospitals are taking action to keep physicians in their communities.