A Tale of Two Doctors – and a Million Dollar Mistake

June 27, 2024April 19, 2015 by Justin Nabity

Why should you buy disability insurance before you start practice? To lock in potential income benefits you will never be eligible for again.

Yes, you can get a discounted rate for disability insurance as a resident, but the reason to buy now is much more than that.

Buying as much disability insurance as you can afford before starting practice is a strategic move many fail to see.

Making this move now as a resident or fellow accesses disability benefits you may never be eligible for again as a practicing physician.

This story of two residents’ choices shows you how and could save you $1 million.

Physician Contract Review FAQs Pt. 1

June 27, 2024April 19, 2015 by Justin Nabity

With the increasing amount of questions that our team receives regarding contract reviews, we are going to be focusing on addressing some of the most common questions over the next few weeks on the blog.

QUESTION: They didn’t teach us how to negotiate employment contracts in medical school – the suggestions you’ve given me are helpful, but how do I communicate these to the employer?

Knowing How Hard to Negotiate in Physician Employment Contracts

March 16, 2023April 19, 2015 by Justin Nabity

Negotiating-Employment-Contract-Physician

The Benefits of Professional Contract Review

During their medical training, physicians are taught about medicine. They are not taught how to analyze an employment contract, nor how to evaluate the reasonableness of a given compensation and benefits package. That is why we encourage physicians to consult with a lawyer and compensation advisor on these matters – they have the required expertise to review these issues.

How Is the Affordable Care Act Impacting Physician Employment Contracts?

November 4, 2022April 19, 2015 by Justin Nabity

Many of our clients are asking how the Affordable Care Act will affect physicians and their employment contracts. At this point, we are noticing the following trends:

1. Many private practices are unsure about the effects of Obamacare and are postponing new hires.

Initial surveys of private practices reveal that they have a lot of anxiety about Obamacare. According to the Medical Group Management Association (“MGMA”), two in five physician practices are unsure about whether they will participate on the government-sponsored marketplaces known as exchanges. Also, while physicians said they saw new opportunities to provide care to the uninsured and a medically underserved population, more than 80 percent of doctors worried about what they will be paid from the plans participating on the exchanges.

The Myth that Contracts aren’t Negotiable

June 27, 2024April 19, 2015 by Justin Nabity

One of the biggest myths told to physicians in the early stages of a contract negotiation goes something like this: “The contract is just a routine form. We really don’t negotiate it.”

If we had a dollar for every time our team heard this repeated, we would be retired on a tropical beach far away by now! In truth, it’s a standard line used in every industry (and a pretty lame one at that).

Please don’t take it at face value.

If you are ever told something similar about your contract being non-negotiable, alarm bells should be going off because it’s a ruse and it’s not true. In reality, your employer hopes you’ll just take the contract as-is.

That would be the easiest thing for everyone involved, right?

Wrong.

It’s the path of least resistance.

Why You Should have a Lawyer Review your Employment Contract

March 16, 2023April 19, 2015 by Justin Nabity

The Importance of Contract Review Services

Many physicians believe they can review and negotiate an employment contract just as well as a lawyer. For sure, physicians are extremely intelligent, and can perform some of the tasks that lawyers do, but not all of them. There are at least three reasons that physicians should still engage a contract lawyer, even when they believe they can perform the review and negotiation themselves.

Common Misconceptions about Contract Review

June 27, 2024April 19, 2015 by Justin Nabity

What You Might Not Know About Your Contract

“I think the contract is mostly good – I just want you to focus on the non-compete clause and tail coverage.” We hear this frequently from our physician-clients. When we dig deeper with our clients, we find the following things to be true most of the time.

4 Ways the Affordable Care Act is Impacting Physicians

November 4, 2022April 19, 2015 by Justin Nabity

Heraclitus, the famous Greek philosopher said “The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change -”

Our team could research and write for weeks on various topics related to the implementation of Affordable Care Act – how it affects patient care, changes to how healthcare is delivered in the United States, its impact on how hospitals and private practices are operated, etc.

Contract Review – Can I Get That In Writing?

October 13, 2023April 19, 2015 by Justin Nabity

In previous posts, I’ve highlighted the importance of understanding certain language in an employment contract that could come back to haunt you if not handled correctly. We discussed the forgiveness period as it pertains to loan repayment and the difference between “claims-made” versus “occurrence” malpractice insurance. But what other terms and conditions in your contract are either unclear or simply missing altogether? Remember, if a dispute arises, the written contract will trump an oral agreement.

“Claims-made” vs. “Occurrence-based” Malpractice Insurance Coverage

October 18, 2022April 19, 2015 by Justin Nabity

Our physician-clients approach us with many questions regarding malpractice insurance coverage. The most common ones are “what kind of malpractice insurance is the employer providing me?” and “who will pay for tail coverage if I leave the employer?”

Nowadays, most employers pay for malpractice insurance for their practicing physicians, especially for beginning and non-shareholder physicians.

The details of the policy should be laid out in the physician employment contract and policy documents. So, relatively speaking, this issue is rarely negotiated – most of the time it’s already in the contract!

The Benefits of Professional Contract Review

Many of our clients are asking how the Affordable Care Act will affect physicians and their employment contracts. At this point, we are noticing the following trends:

1. Many private practices are unsure about the effects of Obamacare and are postponing new hires.

The Importance of Contract Review Services

What You Might Not Know About Your Contract

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