Community Hospital Alternative for Risk Transfer (CHART)
CHART's primary mission is to stabilize the cost and availability of coverage for Pennsylvania community hospitals.
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At this time, only a few commercial carriers remain open to new hospital business, and these at premiums of up to 300% of expiring. Meanwhile, financial pressures on non-profit community hospitals made any increase in cost difficult to absorb.
PMHA, along with Marsh USA, Inc. gathered in the fall of 2001 to discuss ways of overcoming this crisis. Marsh concluded the Pennsylvania community hospitals were excellent prospects for a self-insurance pool with positive attributes such as a focus on patient safety, risk management sophistication and positive community image.Â
A plan was then approved by CHART's Steering Committee, which charged Marsh with developing a vehicle to stabilize the cost and availability of insurance for Pennsylvania community hospitals.
Pricing Stability
Chart was able to insulate its membership from commercial market price increases which averaged 40-60%. Some members experienced more or less benefit, reflecting CHART's increased attention to the underwriting of exposures, and particularly of physician exposures.Â
Coverage Availability
CHART members continue to enjoy substantial advantages over most Pennsylvania hospitals that remain in the commercial market. CHART members have full continuity of coverage; no "buffer" retentions, manageable loss retentions, annual aggregate stop loss coverage, and coverage for employed physicians in the vast majority of cases.