According to the U.S. government on Monday, the average premium for benchmark 2017 Obamacare insurance plans sold on Healthcare.gov rose 25 percent compared with 2016. The increase is the biggest since the insurance first went on sale in 2013 for the following year. The Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that the average monthly premium for the benchmark plan is rising to $302 from $242 in 2016. The agency also added that the large increase is due to insurers adjusting their premiums to reflect two years of cost data that became available.
