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MCARE

The Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Fund ("Mcare") was created by Act 13 of 2002 ("Mcare Act"), and signed into law on March 20, 2002. Mcare is the successor to the Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss Fund, better known as the "CAT Fund" which originally was established by section 701(e) of the Health Care Services Malpractice Act, Act 111 of 1975 (40 P.S. §§ 1301.101-1301.1006), et seq. and began to accept coverage and accrue unreserved liabilities starting in calendar year 1976.

Mcare is a special fund within the State Treasury established, among other things, to ensure reasonable compensation for persons injured due to medical negligence. Money in the fund is used to pay claims against participating healthcare providers and eligible entities for losses or damages awarded in medical professional liability actions in excess of basic insurance coverage ("primary coverage") provided by primary professional liability insurance companies ("primary carriers") or self-insurers.

At the Mcare Fund, it is our responsibility to serve citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in three key ways:

Claims – When patients sue a physician, hospital, or other health care provider covered by the Mcare Act, the Mcare Fund is typically involved in the claims handling process and often in any payment made to the patient. The Mcare Fund routinely plays the role of informal mediator bringing a global perspective to cases with multiple defendants. The Mcare Fund also provides an efficient, neutral, and broadly accepted alternative dispute platform that allows for the more efficient resolution of claims that should be settled but need a process to help this occur.
Compliance – The Mcare Act requires physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers, as defined by the Mcare Act, to have medical professional liability insurance. The Mcare Fund is the state agency where evidence regarding the mandatory insurance requirement is reported. If the Mcare Fund does not receive this information, after notifying the health care provider, the Mcare Fund has the statutory obligation to report the health care provider to the appropriate licensing board for license suspension or revocation.
Coverage - The Mcare Fund receives no General Fund (taxpayer) appropriations. All funds used by the Mcare Fund come from the health care providers it serves. Under the Mcare Act, assessments from these healthcare providers are collected each year. For those health care providers that have medical professional liability insurance in the private market, the insurer calculates bills, collects, and remits the assessment to Mcare for each health care provider it insures. Self-insured healthcare providers perform the same functions on their own behalf.

At the Mcare Fund, we look forward to serving you. If there is some way we can be of assistance, please let us know. Below is more information about the Mcare Fund and our contact information.