DOVER, Del. (AP) - State officials are encouraging residents to sign up in Delaware's health insurance exchange before next week's deadline.
Officials are reminding residents that open enrollment for coverage starting in January ends on Tuesday.
Federal officials say 7,730 Delawareans already have chosen a plan on Delaware's exchange during this year's open enrollment.
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, which has more than 90 percent of the individual market share in Delaware, has been granted an average premium increase of 22.4 percent for individual plans for the current plan year. Aetna Health and Aetna Life Insurance Co. were approved for average individual premium increases of about 17 percent.
The penalty for not having coverage in 2016 is 2.5 percent of annual household income, or $695 per adult and $347.50 per child, whichever is higher.
