The Montana Medical Legal Panel

Purpose

The Montana Medical Legal Panel was created to prevent, where possible, the filing in court of actions against health care providers and their employees for professional liability in situations where the facts do not permit at least a reasonable inference of malpractice and to make possible the fair and equitable disposition of such claims against health care providers as are or reasonably may be well founded.  The Montana Medical Legal Rules of Procedure explains the process for filing a claim, the steps taken after a claim is filed and the review process used by the MMLP. The laws related to the Montana Medical Legal Panel can be found at http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/mca_toc/27_6.htm.

Process

Click to file an Application for Review of Claim
Click for a copy of the Consent Form that will need to be completed for each health care provider in possession of records relative to the incident.

2012 Assessment Exemption

EXEMPTION ELIGIBILITY FOR MMLP ASSESSMENT              

The Montana Medical Legal Panel (MMLP/Panel) is funded through an annual  assessment levied on all health care providers covered by the Montana Medical Legal Panel Act.  The assessment is set each year and apportioned among physicians, dentists, podiatrists, hospitals and other licensed health care facilities.    Under certain conditions, the Panel may exempt a health care provider from this assessment. If you believe you meet one of the conditions listed below for an exemption, you will need to submit a written request along with any supporting documentation to the Panel. Exemption requests for the 2012 MMLP assessment should be sent to the Panel by March 1, 2012.

Individual Practitioners (Physicians, Dentists and Podiatrists): Montana law allows for an individual practitioner to be exempt under certain conditions, including location of principle residence or medical practice, employment by a federal agency, or being retired. 

• Location Exemption - The location exemption is available to practitioners whose principle residence or place of medical practice is not in Montana.  Individuals requesting this exemption should provide a signed statement requesting the exemption and declaring the location of their principle residence or place of medical practice.  A physician who is practicing telemedicine is not eligible for this exemption.

• Retirement Exemption - The retirement exemption is available to practitioners who are fully retired.  Individuals requesting this exemption should provide a signed statement requesting the exemption and declaring they are not practicing medicine, but hold a Montana license.  Please note that health care providers who prescribe medications are considered to be practicing medicine and are not eligible for this exemption.

• Federal Government Employment/Contract Exemption - Practitioners who are employed fulltime by a federal government agency or entity may request this exemption.  Individuals will need to submit a signed statement requesting the exemption and declare they do not practice medicine outside of the federal employment or contract agreement. The individual (or the center) should provide a copy of the center’s current NDA, deeming letters, or NGA with re-deeming language, along with documentation confirming employment or contractor status with the center. Additionally, the individual should provide one of the requirements below:
  • For employed practitioners, documentation of full-time employment  which would consist of a  notarized statement signed by the employer or a W-2 for the individual practitioner showing employment by the center for the current year being assessed.
  • For contracted practitioners, documentation would consist of an employment contract covering the current year being assessed and evidence that the contracted practitioner was working at least an average of 32.5 hours per week.

Facilities:
For purposes of the Panel Act, federally funded facilities subject to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and not licensed under Title 50, chapter 5, as a health care facility, are exempt from MMLP jurisdiction. Eligible health centers for purposes of FTCA protection include the following:
• Community Health Centers (CHC), funded under section 330(e);
• Migrant Health Centers (MHC), funded under section 330(g);
• Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Health Centers, funded under section 330(h); and
• Public Housing Primary Care (PHPC) Health Centers, funded under section 330(i). To establish an exempt status, facilities are required to provide a copy of its current NDA, deeming letters or NGA with re-deeming language for the current year being assessed.

If you meet one of the above-referenced conditions for an exemption, you must submit a written request with supporting documentation to the Montana Medical Legal Panel, 2021 Eleventh Avenue, Helena, MT 59601.  Scanned letters of requests and documentation may be sent by email.  

Reports

2010 Montana Medical Panel Annual Report


Contact Us for More Information

Jean Branscum, Director
Kathy Stepp, Associate Director
Dia Lang, Claims Specialist