A new Virginia law that goes into effect July 1 will require nursing homes to carry liability insurance or face revocation of their licenses, reports VA Lawyers Weekly.
Senate Bill 750, the first of its kind in the United States, will require minimum limits on liability insurance coverage for nursing homes. Governor Bob McDonnell signed the bill March 13, requiring nursing homes to carry at least $1 million in professional and general liability coverage up to the medical malpractice cap. If facilities do not carry the minimum coverage, they are liable to have their licenses revoked by the state.
While only nursing homes are covered under the bill, assisted living facilities will be made to reveal whether or not they carry insurance coverage to residents in their homes. A minimum level of coverage will eventually be instituted as soon as the state Board of Social Services decides on a number.
Senator William M. Stanley says that the bill is one of a kind, and that he “can’t find anything like it in other states.” Stanley has been pushing the bill for three years before it was eventually passed. Some nursing homes will be too small to afford the coverage but an exception has been designed to accommodate them.
The bill becomes law on July 1.
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