Primary care members in England and Wales

Important information for members who had Transitional Benefits membership

If you leave the MDU, you will have to get Extended Benefit Rights for periods of Transitional Benefits membership.

The MDU started to provide primary care members working under NHS contracts in England with Transitional Benefits membership from November 2017, and from July 2018 in Wales, until the start of state-backed indemnity.

Transitional Benefits membership allowed you to request assistance with claims arising from a specific incident as long as:

• The incident or period of treatment happened while you were in active Transitional Benefits membership
• You remained in active Transitional Benefits membership, or were in a period of Extended Benefit Rights:
  • When the incident or period of treatment was notified to us by you
  • When you first requested MDU assistance with a claim arising from the incident or period of treatment, and
  • When the claim was being handled by the MDU
  • When the claim was paid.

Transitional Benefits membership allowed the MDU to charge an affordable subscription to GPs, which has enabled many to remain in practice treating patients.

At the time this guide was written, there had been no agreement with the government for the state-backed indemnity scheme to meet the costs of claims occurring before the start of the state-backed scheme. As a result, should you leave the MDU or retire from practice, you (or your personal representatives if you die) will need to apply for, and be granted, Extended Benefit Rights to request help with claims arising from an incident or course of treatment which happened during your period of Transitional Benefits membership.

Extended Benefit Rights

Extended Benefit Rights provide an ongoing right to receive MDU assistance, when you are no longer an active member, for claims arising from an incident or course of treatment which happened during a period of Transitional Benefits membership from work you were doing under an NHS primary care contract.

Applications for Extended Benefit Rights must be made before you leave MDU membership or up to 30 days after your membership ends. After your death, your personal representatives have 30 days to apply for Extended Benefit Rights once probate or letters of administration are granted.

The granting of Extended Benefit Rights in relation to Transitional Benefits membership, for work under an NHS primary care contract in England or Wales, rests at the discretion of the Board of Management of the MDU.

If you apply for, and the MDU grants Extended Benefit Rights, no additional subscription will be necessary in the following circumstances:

1. You are permanently retiring from medical practice, having reached the normal retirement age for your NHS pension scheme
2. In the event of your death while in MDU membership and your personal representatives apply for, and the MDU grants, Extended Benefit Rights
3. You permanently retire from practice as a result of ill health while you are in MDU membership and apply for, and are granted, ill health retirement under the terms of your NHS pension scheme.

In all other circumstances an additional subscription will need to be paid. Extended Benefit Rights will be renewable annually with a further subscription payable each year for a maximum of 7 years or until the state-backed indemnity scheme covers claims arising from the period of Transitional Benefits membership.