Bill seeks to address rising health insurance rates

JUNEAU (AP) — State officials in Alaska are proposing a program to address high-cost health insurance claims in hopes of stabilizing rising rates on the individual policy market.

Just two companies — Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield and Moda Health Plan Inc. — serve the individual market in Alaska and have filed for double-digit rate increases each of the past two years. State officials say that's not sustainable. They hope that reviving a high-risk pool to handle claims for the costliest conditions will bring some relief.

The idea is to spread the cost of those claims across all insured markets...