New York insurance regulators have approved higher health insurance rates for 2015, though the increases are smaller than what the industry wanted.
The Department of Financial Services announced the new rates Thursday. They include the rates for the state's new health benefits exchange.
For the individual market, the agency approved an average increase of 5.7 percent. A 6.7 percent average increase was granted for the small group market. Those increases are less than half of what insurers had requested.
Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky says the rates for individuals remain more than 50 percent lower than before the establishment of the exchange.
The New York Health Plan Association expressed concern about the rate increases. The trade group's president says inadequate increases could force some insurers to reduce their offerings.
© 2014 AP
