Insurance Bulletin 2026-009 Clarifies Medical Malpractice Premium Rate Filing Requirements Under Amended Act

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On March 19, 2026, the Superintendent issued the referenced Amended Order because of the significant changes made to the Medical Malpractice Act.

The Superintendent anticipates that the significant changes made to the Medical Malpractice Act should result in less costly premiums for medical professional liability insurance coverage.

To satisfy the requirements of the Amended Order i n Case No. 2026-0088, Carriers must file rates with OSI through SERFF the premium rates for medical professional liability insurance that Carriers will charge or intend to charge Policyholders because of the significant statutory changes being made to the Medical Malpractice Act, along with a Notice filed in Case No. 2026-0088 advising that SERFF rate filings have been made. If no premium decreases are being made despite the significant changes to the Medical Malpractice Act, the Carriers must file in Case No. 2026-0088 a Notice that no premium decreases are being made.

A new Section of the Medical Malpractice Act will govern punitive damages. The new Section will be codified as NMSA 1978, §41-5-7.1, effective May 20, 2026. Under this new section of the law, punitive damages are capped at approximately $1 million for independent providers per occurrence, $6 million for New Mexico-owned (“local”) hospitals, and $15 million for non-New Mexico-owned large hospital systems — all of which are subject to annual increases based on the consumer price index for urban communities. Significantly, the new law prohibits including punitive damages in an initial medical malpractice claim for relief.

The amended Medical Malpractice Act also changes the definition of “occurrence” to now mean a health care provider’s or providers’ acts or omissions in the course of medical treatment that created or combined to create an injury or injuries to a patient, regardless of the number of health care providers whose acts or omissions contributed to the injury or injuries; provided that “occurrence” shall not be construed to limit recovery to only one maximum statutory payment when independent medical acts or omissions cause separate injury or injuries to a patient in a course of medical treatment NMSA 1978, §41-5-3 (L) (effective May 20, 2026).

A new Subsection definition also was added to the Medical Malpractice Act: “Value of accrued medical care and related benefits” means the actual amount paid or owed by a patient, or a third party on behalf of a patient, for medical care and related benefits. “Value of accrued medical care and related benefits” does not include any costs waived, written off or lowered by a health care provider. NMSA 1978, §41-5-3 (P) (effective May 20, 2026).

ISSUED this 9th day of April, 2026.

**For complete content please see PDF below.**

CLARIFICATION OF THE AMENDED ORDER FOR REVIEW OF PREMIUM RATES OF COMMERCIAL MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE CARRIERS IN CASE NO. 2026-088