Doctors’ insurance provider gets rate hike OK

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 | 10:53 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A nonprofit company created during the medical malpractice crisis in 2002 to provide insurance for doctors will be able to increase its rates.

State Insurance Commissioner Alice Molasky-Arman has approved a 14.8 percent overall rate increase for Medical Liability Association of Nevada effective Friday for new business and for doctors renewing their policies.

The rate increase would generate about an additional $3.9 million dollars for the association.

Molasky-Arman said there are some realignments of the rates where the doctors in Clark County will see a smaller increase than physicians in the rest of the state.

Bob Byrd, chairman of the board of the association, said the number of malpractice claims has decreased. But he said it's not known whether the severity of the claimed injuries has risen.

But the trend is encouraging and rates are stabilizing, he said. It is still too early, however, to determine if the changes adopted by a 2002 special session of the Legislature on medical malpractice is working, Byrd said.

He said there still needs to be a suit to reach the Nevada Supreme Court for a ruling on the validity of parts of the law.

Byrd said there have been some increases for some specialties but this was the first overall rate increase since the company was formed in May 2002.

Gov. Kenny Guinn convened the Legislature in special session in the summer of 2002 and he signed a bill to tighten the law on medical malpractice suits in an effort to hold down rising premiums for doctors. At that time doctors were threatening to leave the state and some of them left for other states.

Molasky-Arman said anesthesiologists will see the smallest increase at 5.8 percent. Orthopedic surgeons who do not perform spinal surgery will see the largest increase: 30.2 percent for doctors in Clark County and 42.8 percent in the rest of the state.

She said OB/GYNs in Clark County will have a 12.5 percent hike while those in the rest of the state will see increases of 23.5 percent.

Molasky-Arman said, "Although the rate increase is regrettable, it is necessary to ensure the solvency of the association and the minimize the probability of a future assessment to physicians."

She said, "With the exception of the previous increases to the radiology and neurosurgery class rates, MLAN (the association) has not increased rates materially since its inception in 2002."

The commissioner said, "I sincerely regret that Nevada physicians have to bear this rate increase." But she said the rate increase was necessary for the association to meet its liabilities.