The LSMS would like to formally thank the physician members of the Louisiana Patient’s Compensation Oversight Board (PCF) for their service and dedication. On July 7, 2022, the PCF Board met to discuss surcharges for 2023 and were presented a recommendation from their outside actuary to increase rates 14.5% across all classes of physicians and others. However, we are happy to report that the PCF Board voted for rates to remain unchanged for 2023. Given the current, near record inflation physicians are experiencing, along with staffing issues and costs, this decision saves physician members participating in the PCF anywhere from several hundred to a few thousand dollars over the next month. If you are not currently enrolled in the PCF, for whatever the reason(s), we highly suggest you reconsider that decision as the PCF is financially solvent, fiscally responsible, and all funds are managed outside of the state treasury, which means neither the legislature nor the administration can sweep them into another fund to cover any unrelated costs. ABOUT THE PATIENT’S COMPENSATION FUND The Patient’s Compensation Fund (PCF) is an off-budget unit of the state which is 100 percent self-funded and not pooled in the general fund. The Fund was created in 1975 to provide an affordable and guaranteed medical malpractice coverage system for the private healthcare providers in the state. It plays the role of an “excess insurer” of private healthcare providers. The law allows a provider to have financial responsibility for the first $100,000 of exposure per claim whether through insurance or security deposit and enroll in the Fund for the excess coverage and be under an umbrella of the cap on damages. Most health care providers are enrolled in the PCF and pay surcharges for the coverage and protection provided. The PCF provides protection for the healthcare system, keeping costs down, and providing a guaranteed pool of funds to pay those citizens injured from medical malpractice of private health care providers.
MEET THE DEAN: L. Lee Hamm, MD, Dean at Tulane University School of Medicine
Dr. L. Lee Hamm trained as a resident and nephrology fellow at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, then assumed a faculty appointment at Washington University before joining Tulane. An Alabama native, he is proud to call Louisiana and the city of New Orleans home for thirty years. Now, as the Senior Vice President & Dean of the School of Medicine for the past 9 years, he is passionate about creating an environment that enables the Tulane Medicine community to continue the mission of a university that was founded as a medical school to combat a series of public health pandemics. This centers around the long standing phrase “Discover, Learn, Heal”: Ensuring that the research enterprise continues to evolve, innovate and develop the next-generation of treatments, tests and cures; that our students in medicine and biomedical sciences are provided the building blocks they need to not only succeed technically in their fields – but to become the professionals who provide the next generation of scientific and medical leadership; and for the clinical enterprise to remain focused on serving not only New Orleans and Louisiana, but the world we live in. Dr. Hamm enthusiastically supports the mission and foundational aspects of the Louisiana State Medical Society - to “Advocate, Collaborate, Communicate and Educate” - as the LSMS serves as a trusted resource for all physicians in the great state of Louisiana. A nephrologist by training, he maintains active research collaborations and a clinical practice, allowing him to remain on top of current trends and needs. But he says what is most gratifying as Dean is being able to make the connections and put leaders in place for the various departments and programs that help them to grow and prosper in their academic and clinical missions.
Many thanks to: Christopher Foret, M.D., Chair Luis Alvarado, M.D., Secretary
Reece Newsome, M.D. David Broussard, M.D.
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