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Big health plans stung by losses in the first few years of the U.S. health law’s implementation are seeking hefty premium increases for individual plans sold through insurance exchanges in more than a dozen states. The insurers’ proposed rates for individual coverage in states that have made their 2017 requests public largely bear out health plans’ grim predictions about their challenges under the health-care overhaul. According to the insurers’ filings with regulators, large plans in states including New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia are seeking to raise rates by 20% or more. (Radnofsky, 5/25)

Average premium requests for 2017 for the most popular type of ACA marketplace plans are 16 percent higher in the first nine states to make them public, according to an Avalere Health analysis released May 24. The 16 percent average increase is for all silver-tier plans, which cover an average of about 70 percent of medical claims. (Hansard, 5/24)

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department on Wednesday released preliminary rate requests for 20 small-group health plans and 18 individual plans that will be offered under the Affordable Care Act for next year. The requests for increases now under review by the insurance department averaged 7.9 percent for small group plans and 23.6 percent for individual plans, but the final rates that will be posted in October could be lower. (Brukbaker, 5/25)

Insurers are seeking double-digit rate increases for 2017 health plans that will be sold to individual Floridians under the Affordable Care Act, a reflection of increasing medical costs and the end of a safety net for insurers. (Gentry, 5/25)

Iowans buying Obamacare-subsidized health insurance could be in for a big price increase next year. The main insurance carrier selling such plans to Iowans wants to raise rates to most of its customers by at least 18 percent. Coventry Health Care has notified the Iowa Insurance Division of its proposed 2016 rate increases, which would affect about 47,000 Iowans. (Leys, 5/26)

Harken Health Insurance Company, an independent subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest health insurer, said it will sell coverage for 2017 on the ACA exchange in Miami-Dade and Broward counties using a managed care model that includes a network of primary care clinics and personal counselors to guide members through the healthcare experience. (Chang, 5/25)