17:30D-30 Responsibilities of commissioner.

28. a. In order to carry out the purposes of section 27 of P.L.2004, c.17 (C.17:30D-29), the commissioner shall, at a minimum:

(1) establish a program to provide medical malpractice liability insurance premium subsidies to health care providers from monies that are contained in the fund;

(2) establish a methodology and procedures for determining eligibility for, and providing subsidies from, the fund;

(3) maintain confidential records on each health care provider who receives assistance from the fund;

(4) take all necessary action to recover the cost of the subsidy provided to a health care provider that the commissioner determines to have been incorrectly provided; and

(5) provide for subsidies to all practitioners who are members of specialties and subspecialties who qualify for relief under subsection b. of this section, including those whose professional liability insurance protection is provided by hospital funding supplemented by purchased commercial insurance coverage.

b. The commissioner shall certify classes of practitioners by specialty and subspecialty for each type of practitioner, whose average medical malpractice premium, as a class, on or after December 31, 2002, is in excess of an amount per year as determined by the commissioner by regulation. In certifying classes eligible for the subsidy, the commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, may also consider if access to care is threatened by the inability of a significant number of practitioners, as applicable, in a particular specialty or subspecialty, to continue practicing in a geographic area of the State.

(1) In order to be eligible for a subsidy from the fund, a practitioner shall have received a medical malpractice liability insurance premium increase in an amount as determined by the commissioner by regulation, for one or more of the following: upon renewal on or after January 1, 2004, from the amount paid by that practitioner in calendar year 2003; upon renewal on or after January 1, 2005, from the amount paid by that practitioner in calendar year 2004; and upon renewal on or after January 1, 2006, from the amount paid by that practitioner in calendar year 2005; or

(2) In the case of a health care provider providing professional liability insurance protection through self-insured hospital funding supplemented with purchased commercial insurance coverage, in order to be eligible for a subsidy from the fund, that provider shall have increased its total professional liability funding obligation in an amount as determined by the commissioner by regulation, for one or more of the following: upon renewal on or after January 1, 2004, from the professional liability funding obligation paid by that provider in calendar year 2003; upon renewal on or after January 1, 2005, from the professional liability funding obligation paid by that provider in calendar year 2004; and upon renewal on or after January 1, 2006, from the professional liability funding obligation paid by that provider in calendar year 2005.

(3) The amount of the subsidy shall be an amount, as determined by the commissioner by regulation, of the increase from the preceding year's premium or self-insured professional liability funding obligation; except that no health care provider shall receive a subsidy in any year that is greater than an amount as determined by the commissioner by regulation.

c. A practitioner who has been subject to a disciplinary action or civil penalty by the practitioner's respective licensing board pursuant to section 8, 9 or 12 of P.L.1978, c.73 (C.45:1-21, 22 or 25), when that action or penalty relates to the practitioner's provision of, or failure to provide, treatment or care to a patient, is not eligible for a subsidy from the fund.

d. (1) A practitioner who receives a subsidy from the fund shall be required to practice in that practitioner's specialty or subspecialty in this State for a period of at least two years after receipt of the subsidy.

(2) A practitioner who fails to comply with the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be required to repay to the commissioner the amount of the subsidy, in whole or in part as determined by the commissioner.

e. The commissioner may waive the criteria for eligibility for a subsidy established pursuant to this section, if the commissioner determines that access to care for a particular specialty is threatened because of an inability of a sufficient number of practitioners in that specialty or subspecialty to practice in a geographic area of the State.

f. The State Board of Medical Examiners, the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry, and the New Jersey Board of Nursing shall each provide to the commissioner, on a quarterly basis, the names of the practitioners who have been subject to a disciplinary action or civil penalty by the practitioner's respective licensing board.

g. For the purposes of section 29 of P.L.2004, c.17 (C.18A:71C-49), the commissioner, in consultation with the State Board of Medical Examiners, shall provide to the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority the names of obstetrician/gynecologists licensed by the board who may qualify for the student loan reimbursement program established pursuant to P.L.2004, c.17. A physician who has been subject to a disciplinary action or civil penalty by the board, as provided in subsection c. of this section, shall not be eligible for the program.

L.2004, c.17, s.28; amended 2012, c.17, s.33.