Arkansas Physician Assistant Malpractice Insurance
A physician assistant (PA) in Arkansas is licensed by the Arkansas State Medical Board and practices under a written agreement with a supervising physician, updated every year (Ark. Code 17-105-110). No Arkansas law requires PA malpractice insurance, and the state constitution bars damage caps, so employers and hospitals set your limits. Quote online from Little Rock, Fort Smith or Fayetteville and get same-day proof.
Why Arkansas PAs Need Their Own Policy
Arkansas is one of the few states where the constitution itself forbids limits on injury damages (art. 5, sec. 32), so a verdict is capped only by your policy. Your supervising physician must tell the board within 10 days when a malpractice claim names you (rule 140-1808), and since 2025 a child injured at 9 or younger has until at least age 11 to sue. Bentonville, Rogers and Springdale groups recruit hard, so a claims-made policy needs a tail plan before you move.
How much does malpractice insurance for Physician Assistants cost in Arkansas?
Costs are based on specialties as well as full vs part- time hours:
Average $1M/$3M Coverage Premium - Part Time (less than 24 hours/week):
$1,012 - P1 (lower-risk outpatient specialties like family practice or dermatology)
$1,317 - P2 (hospital ER, urgent care, OR work under 10 hours/week)
$1,611 - P3 (surgical or OB/GYN without L&D, trauma, pain management)
Average $1M/$3M Coverage Premium - Full Time (greater than 24 hours/week):
$1,523 - P1 (lower-risk outpatient specialties like family practice or dermatology)
$1,988 - P2 (hospital ER, urgent care, OR work under 10 hours/week)
$2,426 - P3 (surgical or OB/GYN without L&D, trauma, pain management)
Sample rates only. Premium will be underwritten for your exact situation when using our Instant Online Quote portal.
Physician Assistant Insurance cost varies depending on:
* Scope of services provided
* Claims-made vs. occurrence form
* Policy limits (standard limits are $1/$3M, but $100k/$300k, $250k/$500k, $500k/$1M and $2M/$4M limits available
* Prior claims history
**Note:** Rates will be underwritten for your exact situation.
Arkansas PA Practice Rules
Coverage rule: the PA Act (Ark. Code 17-105-101 et seq.) and board rules 17 CAR 140-1801 et seq. set no PA malpractice insurance requirement; contracts usually ask for $1M/$3M. Damages: no cap (Ark. Const. art. 5, sec. 32) and no patient compensation fund. Deadline: 2 years from the act, 1 year from discovery of a foreign object, longer for children (16-114-203, amended 2025). PAs fall under the Medical Malpractice Act (17-105-123).
Arkansas PAs practice under supervision that is continuous but doesn't require the physician on site (17-105-101(5), -109). The board must accept the delegation agreement before licensure; it sets practice area, location, supervision, evaluation, prescribing and backup physicians (rule 140-1804). Report a supervising-physician change within 10 days (17-105-111).
Arkansas Physician Assistant (PA) FAQs
Are Arkansas physician assistants required to have liability insurance?
Not by statute or board rule. The PA Act (Ark. Code 17-105-101 to -125) and 17 CAR 140-1801 et seq. have no coverage requirement. Arkansas hospitals and employers require it for credentialing, usually $1M per claim and $3M aggregate.
$1M/$3M is the usual contract minimum. Arkansas's constitution bars laws limiting recovery for injury or death (art. 5, sec. 32), so there is no cap on noneconomic or punitive damages. Surgical, emergency and obstetric groups often ask for more. Your contract sets the number.
What policy limits do Arkansas hospitals expect PAs to carry?
How much does malpractice insurance for Physician Assistants cost in Arkansas?
For Arkansas, malpractice insurance for Physician Assistants can be priced from about $972 per year at entry-level $100,000/$300,000 limits. At the more common $1,000,000/$3,000,000 limits, average annual premiums are roughly $1523 for Tier P1 (behavioral health, pediatrics, family practice, dermatology), $1988 for Tier P2 (ER, urgent care, surgical centers or OR work <10 hours/week), and $2426 for Tier P3 (OB/GYN without labor & delivery, trauma, pain management, higher-risk surgical). Part-time Physician Assistants in Arkansas usually see lower rates, averaging $1012, $1317, and $1611 across the same P1P3 tiers. Final premiums vary by specialty, procedures, hours worked, and individual claims history.
Can an Arkansas PA rely on the employer's malpractice insurance?
Often only partly. Many Arkansas employer policies cover the entity first and you second, may leave out license defense, and stop the day you resign. Get the declarations page, not just a verbal yes.
Patient injury claims tied to your clinical work in Arkansas, including defense even when the suit has no merit. Many policies also cover board investigations and depositions where you are only a witness.
What does professional liability insurance pay for if an Arkansas PA is sued?
Can a PA practice without a supervising physician in Arkansas?
No. Arkansas PAs practice under a supervising physician, though supervision is continuous rather than on site (Ark. Code 17-105-101(5), -109). The board must accept your delegation agreement before licensure, covering practice area, location, supervision, prescribing and backup physicians (rule 140-1804), and a change of supervising physician is reported within 10 days (17-105-111).
Yes, if delegated and approved by the board in Arkansas. Schedule II is limited to opioids for 5 days or less, stimulants first prescribed by a physician who saw the patient within 6 months, and authorized hydrocodone combinations (17-105-108). You need DEA registration, and hydrocodone authority requires 5 pain CME hours.
Can PAs prescribe controlled substances in Arkansas?
What is the deadline to file a malpractice claim against a PA in Arkansas?
Acts 124 and 140 of 2025 amended 16-114-203 in Arkansas. As amended, a child 9 or younger has until the later of age 11 or 2 years from the act. Childbirth injuries can be filed until age 5, and injuries not discoverable by 11 have 2 years from discovery, ending at 19.
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-17/subtitle-3/chapter-80/subchapter-4/section-17-80-403/
Does Arkansas cap malpractice damages or have a patient compensation fund?
Neither. Article 5, section 32 of the Arkansas Constitution prohibits laws limiting the amount recovered for injury or death, the Supreme Court struck the punitive damages cap in Bayer CropScience v. Schafer (2011), and Arkansas has no state excess fund.
Are Arkansas PAs covered by the Medical Malpractice Act?
Yes, in Arkansas. Ark. Code 17-105-123 places PAs under the same malpractice provisions as their supervising physician, and 16-114-201 lists physician's assistants as medical care providers. That brings the 2-year deadline, the expert-proof rules and the Act's other procedures.
Is tail coverage required for PAs in Arkansas?
On claims-made, yes in Arkansas. Adult claims run 2 years from the act itself, but children's claims can be filed until 11 and, if the injury couldn't be discovered sooner, until 19 (16-114-203). Pediatric and obstetric PAs especially need tail or prior-acts coverage.
What is the difference between claims-made and occurrence for PAs in Arkansas?
Occurrence covers each year's incidents permanently. Claims-made starts cheaper but needs tail. With no damage cap and pediatric claims that can come years later, many Arkansas PAs price both before they choose.
Do new-grad PAs need malpractice insurance in Arkansas?
Have coverage in place before you see patients. Your first Arkansas employer will usually ask for proof at credentialing, and a personal occurrence policy keeps you covered if that first job ends early.
Does an Arkansas PA's malpractice policy cover virtual visits?
It should. In Arkansas, under Ark. Code 17-80-403 you need a professional relationship before treating by telemedicine, and it can't be set up by questionnaire, email or text alone. Confirm the policy covers telehealth and every state where patients sit.
Is license defense included in PA malpractice insurance in Arkansas?
It should. Individual Arkansas PA policies normally fund defense in investigations and hearings by the Arkansas State Medical Board under a license protection sublimit. Confirm it before a complaint arrives.
What is the risk of practicing as a PA in Arkansas without malpractice insurance?
No statute forbids it, but hospitals and most employers won't credential you. With no damage cap in Arkansas, an uninsured judgment falls on your own assets. The supervising physician's carrier defends the physician first.
Do malpractice settlements get reported to the Arkansas PA licensing board?
Yes, in Arkansas. Within 10 days of learning of a claim or suit against a PA, the supervising physician must notify the board on its form, with a copy of any filed complaint (rule 140-1808(b)). Payments also go to the National Practitioner Data Bank under 45 CFR 60.7.
How long does it take to get PA malpractice coverage in Arkansas?
Quickly. Most Arkansas PAs can be quoted online in minutes and covered the same day; apply a few days before your start date if a hospital needs specific certificate wording.
Can an Arkansas PA work in a rural health clinic without the physician on site?
Yes, in Arkansas. Supervision must be continuous, but the physician needn't be present if you can reach each other by phone or electronically (17-105-101(5)), and the supervising or backup physician should be available for immediate phone contact (rule 140-1806). Your own policy covers the calls you make alone.
Yes, by rule in Arkansas. PAs are their supervising physicians' agents (17-105-107(b)), the written agreement says the physician keeps legal responsibility for your care (17-105-110), and the physician is liable for acts within the delegated powers (rule 140-1808). You can still be sued directly (16-114-201).
Is a supervising physician liable for a PA's malpractice in Arkansas?
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Helpful Links:
- Physician assistant (PA) insurance guide
- PA malpractice insurance cost by state
- Instant PA insurance quotes
- Am I covered under my supervising physician's policy?
- Tail coverage for physician assistants
- Claims-made vs occurrence for PAs
- Missouri PA malpractice insurance
- Tennessee PA malpractice insurance
- Oklahoma PA malpractice insurance
- Louisiana PA malpractice insurance
Arkansas sources:
- Arkansas State Medical Board: physician assistants
- Ark. Code 17-105-101 et seq. (PA Act)
- Ark. Code 17-105-108 (prescriptive authority)
- 17 CAR 140-1804 (delegation agreement)
- 17 CAR 140-1808 (physician liability, claim notice)
- Ark. Code 16-114-203 (filing deadlines)
- Ark. Code 16-114-206 (burden of proof)
- Ark. Code 17-105-202 (PA Licensure Compact)