Sec. 4. (a) If the possible liability of the health care provider to the patient is discharged solely through an immediate payment, the limitations on recovery from a health care provider stated in section 3(b) and 3(d) of this chapter apply.
(b) If the health care provider agrees to discharge its possible liability to the patient through a periodic payments agreement, the amount of the patient's recovery from a health care provider in a case under this subsection is the amount of any immediate payment made by the health care provider or the health care provider's insurer to the patient, plus the cost of the periodic payments agreement to the health care provider or the health care provider's insurer. For the purpose of determining the limitations on recovery stated in section 3(b) and 3(d) of this chapter and for the purpose of determining the question under IC 34-18-15-3 of whether the health care provider or the health care provider's insurer has agreed to settle its liability by payment of its policy limits, the sum of the present payment of money to the patient (or the patient's estate) by the health care provider (or the health care provider's insurer) plus the cost of the periodic payments agreement expended by the health care provider (or the health care provider's insurer) must exceed:
(1) one hundred eighty-seven thousand dollars ($187,000) for an act of malpractice that occurs:
(A) after June 30, 1999; and
(B) before July 1, 2017; and
(2) seventy-five percent (75%) of the maximum amount a health care provider is responsible for under section 3(b) and 3(d) of this chapter for an act of malpractice that occurs after June 30, 2017.
(c) More than one (1) health care provider may contribute to the cost of a periodic payments agreement, and in such an instance the sum of the amounts expended by each health care provider for immediate payments and for the cost of the periodic payments agreement shall be used to determine whether the requirement in subsection (b) has been satisfied. However, one (1) health care provider or its insurer must be liable for at least fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).