R.I. MED-MAL HIKE SOUGHT:

Medical malpractice insurers in Rhode Island are seeking state approval for new rate hikes, over the protest of doctors who say insurance costs have caused some physicians to quit or curtail their practices. The Department of Business Regulation will hold a hearing this month on a request by NORCAL Mutual Insurance Co. to raise its rates 19 percent for next year. The increase would come on top of a 42.8 percent increase for this year by NORCAL, the state’s largest medical malpractice insurer. The company had wanted a 55.7 percent increase for this year, basing its request on a growing gap between claim losses and premiums collected since it began writing policies in Rhode Island in 1994. NORCAL isn’t alone in seeking another increase. The DBR was scheduled to hold a hearing last week on a 15.5 percent rate increase for physicians and surgeons requested by ProSelect Insurance Co., the state’s second-largest writer. Newell Warde, the society’s executive director, said 10 years ago, doctors in low-risk fields, such as general internists, paid about $4,000 annually for liability insurance. Next year, he said, they will pay about $15,000. Doctors in high-risk specialties—such as obstetricians and neurosurgeons—a decade ago, paid some $35,000. This year, their coverage costs about $92,000. It’s estimated to be $109,600 next year. Earlier this year, Gov. Don Carcieri proposed capping the amount of money medical malpractice victims could collect for pain and suffering. The Republican governor also wants to speed up the court process, and make other reforms to the medical liability system. The General Assembly did not vote on the proposal.