For New Jersey Radiological Society Members
Filing Extension Approved for 2006 Medical Malpractice Liability Insurance Premium Assistance Fund
The ACR received word from WolfBlock Brach Eichler, the law firm that represents the New Jersey Radiological Society, that the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance determined that it will permit applicants who missed the August 24, 2007 filing deadline to apply for the 2006 Medical Liability Insurance Premium Assistance Fund (the “Fund”) so long as such applicants notified the Department by October 24, 2007.
Several physicians contacted Wolfblock after receiving a rejection letter from the Department denying the physicians the chance to file late. WolfBlock contacted the Department to appeal the Department’s decision on behalf of physicians who had not yet contacted the Department and for those who received a letter of denial. The appeal submitted to the Department indicated that applicants were entitled to a filing extension because physicians did not receive proper notice until after the deadline passed. The Department is contacting each applicant via telephone that requested an extension within sixty days (60) of the filing deadline.
This is the final year for a three year program established pursuant to the New Jersey Medical Care Access and Responsibility and Patient’s First Act by which certain physicians, including mammographers, would receive a premium subsidy to help offset the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance. For those applicants who did submit a timely application, checks are not yet distributed because the subsidy is dependent on the total assessments collected, how many total applications are received and approved by the Department and will be proportionate to the average expenditure for mammographers as compared to other eligible subspecialties and specialties.
Please contact John D. Fanburg, counsel for the New Jersey Radiological Society, at jfanburg@wolfblock.com or (973) 228-5700.