Dr. Jennifer Bucks days are long. A busy physician at a Tampa-area plastic surgery office, Dr. Buck is usually too busy with patients to devote much time to the issue of asset protection, but its on her mind.
“Were living in a very litigious society,” says Buck, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, or FACS. “There are times when doctors can become the focus of this, so making sure your family is protected is very important.” Buck is not alone. For years now, Floridas health professionals have been clamoring for tort reform reform they say is needed to reduce the burden of skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance rates in the Sunshine State. As doctors across the state reduce their malpractice insurance, “go bare” or consider actually leaving the state in response to the crisis, the Florida Medical Association has stepped up to the plate to offer Floridas physicians a solution. Jacksonville-based Physicians Advantage, a wealth management and preservation firm and the exclusive financial services provider of the FMA, has enrolled hundreds of physicians in its CAPS+ program (an acronym for Comprehensive Asset Protection Solutions). By assembling a team of experts in the medical, legal, accounting and financial fields, the CAPS+ program offers physicians one program that focuses on the three key areas of asset protection: asset preservation, asset accumulation and medical malpractice planning and defense.
“The CAPS+ system could be the difference between being able to practice in our current environment, or being forced to leave the state or retire,” says Dr. Troy Tippett, Past President of the FMA. He points out that during the 1990s, more than 15,000 medical-malpractice lawsuits were filed against Florida physicians. In this often hostile climate, Tippett and the FMA say it is essential that the states doctors have a team of specialists who can offer advanced planning and protection services.
The company has experienced great success with the CAPS+ program, enrolling almost 300 physicians within 16 months.
“Through CAPS+, Floridas physicians are starting to enact a grassroots type of tort reform across the state,” says Shane Hunt, President of Physicians Advantage. “We have really satisfied a need for the busy physician with a comprehensive, turnkey solution at a discounted price.”
Physicians Advantages CAPS+ program includes more than just setting up a few legal structures and stamping the file asset protected. The CAPS+ professionals look at the physicians entire personal and corporate situation and implement proven solutions for wealth preservation and asset growth as well as provide a plan to defend it all. And it is working. All cases to date have settled favorably for the CAPS+ physicians very early in the litigation process.
“We know we are making a difference,” says Hunt. “We frequently hear from our members that the CAPS+ program is providing them the opportunity to get back to practice of medicine knowing that their family and their future are now protected.”
