Potential liabilities for Federally Qualified Health Centers

As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), your organization provides those in your community with access to quality, comprehensive care. With all the services you provide come a variety of potential liabilities. From medical malpractice to cybersecurity concerns, understanding what could happen is the first step in protecting yourself while continuing to serve your patients. 

Common liability exposures like trip and fall hazards, fire damage, and work-related injuries can be covered under your general liability, property, and workers’ compensation policies, but what about the other risks out there?

Professional liability

Protect your organization against errors, mishaps, and wrongdoing with solutions that address gaps in the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) policy, physician’s coverage, and sexual/physical abuse or molestation. Nobody wants these things to happen, and by actively training employees to avoid mistakes, some of these claims can be mitigated. Unfortunately, serious incidents can happen. Typical policies often include coverage for legal defense and judgments made against you but won’t usually cover intentional acts. 

Excess liability

It’s critical to consider your organization’s financial picture, and in instances where your current coverage is not enough, covering the gap is essential. Protecting your organization from potential losses can be the difference between providing care and shutting your doors. Excess liability policies provide coverage by offering higher policy limits that extend after the underlying policy limits have been exhausted, including business income for mobile medical units.  It is crucial to become financially whole after a loss to resume normal operations.

Directors and Officers (D&O) liability

D&O coverage is critical for medical staff and hospital administration—especially those serving FQHCs—to protect against managerial decisions that could have financial consequences. These policies are not as broad as others, and the defense coverage usually shrinks the policy’s limits, which is the opposite of most other liability policies. Still, this policy ensures that another gap is covered if a director or officer of your FQHC is brought into a lawsuit. 

Cybersecurity liability

Cyber risk continues to be high worldwide, but for a business with highly confidential financial and personal information, like health centers, a cybersecurity incident can lead to halted care, which could endanger both the facility and its patients. While cyber incidents are inevitable, cyber protection assists with cyber risk mitigation, incident response, and recovery.

Insurance can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA)’s specialized insurance solutions for Federally Qualified Health Centers can help address these risks. Speak with one of our specialists today to see how MMA can provide you with coverage and peace of mind.