Washington Physician Assistant Malpractice Insurance
Since January 1, 2025, a Washington physician assistant (PA) works either under supervision or in collaboration, depending on hours: collaboration needs 4,000 postgraduate clinical hours, including 2,000 in your specialty (RCW 18.71A.030). Either way, state law says the PA keeps responsibility for the medicine they practice. Washington has no damage caps and no PA insurance mandate. Get an instant quote online with same-day proof.
Why Washington PAs Need Their Own Policy
RCW 18.71A.050 says a physician assistant retains responsibility for any act of medicine they perform, so a Washington claim names you, not just your participating physician or employer. Their coverage is built to defend them. Washington also lets juries set damages without a cap, gives patients 3 years from the act or 1 from discovery to sue, and since the 2023 Bennett decision has no 8-year outer limit. A policy in your own name protects you across job changes, multiple collaboration agreements, and telehealth to other Compact states.
How much does malpractice insurance for Physician Assistants cost in Washington?
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.
Washington PA Practice Rules
Coverage rule: chapter 18.71A RCW has no malpractice insurance requirement for PAs; hospitals and employers set limits, typically $1M/$3M. Deadline: 3 years from the act or omission or 1 year from discovery, whichever is later (RCW 4.16.350), tolled for fraud, concealment or a retained foreign body. The 8-year repose was struck down in Bennett v. United States (Wash. 2023). Damages: no cap (Sofie v. Fibreboard, 1989). Health-care claims go to mandatory mediation before trial (RCW 7.70.100). Washington has no patient compensation fund.
Before practicing, you sign a collaboration agreement naming at least one participating physician, signed by a physician or your employer and kept at your primary practice site (RCW 18.71A.120). Under 4,000 postgraduate hours you work under supervision; with 4,000 hours, including 2,000 supervised in your specialty, you may work in collaboration. A specialty change restarts 2,000 supervised hours. You track and attest your own hours. Personal presence of the physician isn't required.
Washington Physician Assistant (PA) FAQs
Do I need my own malpractice policy as a PA in Washington?
Not by statute. Chapter 18.71A RCW, the PA practice law, contains no insurance or financial-responsibility requirement. In practice, Washington hospitals, groups and payers require proof of coverage, and because RCW 18.71A.050 keeps responsibility for your care with you, a personal policy matters even when an employer covers you.
Usually $1M per claim / $3M aggregate, set by employer and hospital contracts. Washington courts struck its noneconomic damages cap in Sofie v. Fibreboard (1989), so no statute limits a jury award; high-acuity specialties often look at higher limits.
What malpractice limits should a Washington PA carry?
How much does malpractice insurance for Physician Assistants cost in Washington?
Physician Assistants in Washington often see premiums starting near $972 annually for basic $100,000/$300,000 coverage. For standard $1M/$3M coverage, expect typical costs of about $1523 for P1 specialties (pediatrics, behavioral health, dermatology, family practice), $1988 for P2 (ER, urgent care, surgical centers under 10 hrs/week), and $2426 for P3 (OB/GYN excluding labor & delivery, trauma, high-risk surgical). Part-time Physician Assistants in Washington usually see lower rates, averaging $1012, $1317, and $1611 across the same P1P3 tiers. Actual rates depend on your specialty focus, practice hours, procedures performed, and any prior claims.
Is a group or hospital malpractice policy enough for a PA in Washington?
Read it first. In Washington, an employer policy usually shares limits across clinicians and its carrier controls the defense. Ask whether you're a named insured, whether it covers work under other collaboration agreements or moonlighting, and who buys tail when you leave.
Malpractice suits first, plus extras that vary by carrier: license defense before the Washington Medical Commission, deposition help and often HIPAA or billing-error defense. Read the declarations page for each sublimit.
What will my PA malpractice policy pay for in Washington?
Can a Washington PA work without a supervising or collaborating physician?
Yes, in collaboration rather than under supervision, once you have 4,000 postgraduate hours, including 2,000 supervised in your specialty. Every Washington PA still needs a collaboration agreement naming at least one participating physician before practicing (RCW 18.71A.120), and a specialty change restarts 2,000 supervised hours.
Yes, within your collaboration agreement and with DEA registration in Washington. You must register with the state PMP to prescribe Schedule II-V drugs (WAC 246-918-935). For acute nonoperative pain, three days of opioids is often enough, and more than 7 days needs documented justification (WAC 246-918-835). PMP checks are required at the first opioid refill and at each pain-stage transition.
Can a Washington PA prescribe Schedule II drugs?
How long does a patient have to sue a PA for malpractice in Washington?
Yes, in Washington. 3 years from the act or omission or 1 year from discovery, whichever is later (RCW 4.16.350), longer if there was fraud, concealment or a retained foreign body. The 8-year outer limit is gone after Bennett v. United States (2023), and minority tolling applies after Schroeder v. Weighall (2014), so pediatric claims can arrive years later.
Does Washington cap malpractice damages?
No. The Washington Supreme Court struck down the state's damages cap in Sofie v. Fibreboard (1989), so there is no limit on economic or noneconomic malpractice damages. Health care claims do go to mandatory mediation before trial (RCW 7.70.100).
Is there a state excess fund that covers Washington PAs?
No state fund sits above a Washington PA's policy. Pennsylvania's MCARE and the funds in Indiana and Wisconsin have no Washington equivalent, so with no cap on verdicts, the limits you buy, or your employer buys for you, are the whole recovery source short of personal assets.
Does a Washington PA need tail coverage after leaving a job?
On claims-made, usually. Without the 8-year repose and with minority tolling restored, Washington claims can surface long after care, so buy tail or get prior acts from your new carrier. A collaboration agreement needs 30 days' termination notice unless there's a safety concern, so line up coverage within that window.
Should a PA in Washington buy claims-made or occurrence coverage?
Occurrence covers each policy year's incidents permanently, which suits a state where claims can arrive late in Washington. Claims-made starts cheaper and rises for several years, but every job change needs tail or prior acts. Compare the total cost, including tail, over the years you expect to stay.
How should a new graduate PA in Washington set up malpractice coverage?
You'll start under supervision, since collaboration needs 4,000 postgraduate hours in Washington. A Commission interim permit can last up to a year while you finish the exam (RCW 18.71A.020). Start coverage the first day you work, and keep an hours log from day one, because you're responsible for tracking it.
Can physician assistants practice telehealth in Washington?
Yes, within your collaboration agreement. You need a license, or a Compact privilege where available, in the state where the patient is located. Washington is listed as a PA Licensure Compact member state. Make sure your policy names telehealth and every state where your patients are.
Does PA malpractice insurance cover a Washington Medical Commission complaint?
On most individual policies, yes. Board complaints are more common than lawsuits, and the Washington Medical Commission can investigate a Washington PA over prescribing or documentation with no patient suing.
What happens if a Washington PA practices without malpractice insurance?
You defend and pay the claim yourself in Washington. RCW 18.71A.050 says the PA keeps responsibility for the medicine they practice, so the participating physician's or employer's carrier isn't obligated to defend you. With no damages cap and no state fund, a judgment can reach personal assets. Most employers also require coverage by contract.
Will a malpractice claim show up on my record as a Washington PA?
Any settlement or judgment your carrier pays for you is filed with the federal data bank under 45 CFR §60.7, and credentialing committees see it in Washington. Separately, the Medical Commission may act against a PA whose practice strays from the collaboration agreement (RCW 18.71A.120(5)), and a physician's case tied to your work is referred to their own disciplining authority.
Can a Washington PA buy malpractice insurance online?
Use the instant online quote for Washington PA coverage, then send any credentialing requirements, like a certificate holder, so your proof matches what the facility asks for. Email jeff@careproinsurance.com with questions.
Do Washington PAs near Oregon or Idaho need extra licensing?
If your patients are in Oregon or Idaho, you need authorization there, and your policy territory must include those states in Washington. Oregon isn't listed as a Compact member; check each state's status before seeing patients across the border.
The collaboration agreement can include only tasks you're qualified for that fall within the participating physicians' scope and specialty in Washington (RCW 18.71A.120(2)(a)). For coverage, ask the carrier to list neurotoxins, fillers, lasers and every spa location, since unlisted cosmetic work is a common exclusion.
Do PAs doing Botox and fillers need special malpractice coverage in Washington?
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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
- Oregon PA malpractice insurance
- Idaho PA malpractice insurance
- Alaska PA malpractice insurance
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