Monthly health insurance premiums for nearly 2 million Californians expected to rise next year

California state officials believe monthly insurance premiums for nearly 1.7 million residents will rise by an average of 9.6% next year.

Monthly premiums on plans purchased through Covered California were stable throughout the pandemic, increasing an average of just over 1% per year from 2020 through 2022 as many people delayed routine health care. But this year, rates jumped 5.6% in California as people started returning to doctor's offices.

State officials blamed next year's increase on a variety of factors, including inflation, higher pharmacy costs and labor shortages. Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman called it "a challenging year for health care costs."