Thursday, May 22, 2003 | 9:21 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Medical malpractice insurance costs are going up an average of 16.7 percent statewide for hundreds of physicians insured by The Doctors' Company. State Insurance Commissioner Alice Molasky said Wednesday that her office had approved the rate increase, which is slightly less than the 16.9 percent average rise statewide that the company had requested.
The Doctors' Company insures about 373 doctors in Clark County and the average rate increase for them will be 14.4 percent, officials said. The highest increase for a specialty physician will be 25 percent for those in dermatology-liposuction, a spokesman for the state insurance division said.
Molasky said her staff and the company "worked diligently to agree upon rates that are fair and adequate."
The company last increased its rates in Nevada in August 2002 when it raised them by about 25 percent.
Doctors outside of Clark County will be hit with the largest increases, with pathologists seeing their rates rise by 50 percent. As high as that may be, it's still lower than what the company asked for, a 90 percent increase.
The company's requests for increases of 49 percent for surgical specialists and 45 percent for diagnostic radiology for those outside of Clark County also were lowered, to 35 percent.
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