Health premiums to rise 5.6% on Covered California’s small business exchange

Nearly 36,000 Californians receive health insurance through the small business exchange, where companies with 100 or fewer employees can purchase health plans for their workers.

The small business exchange is not as widely used as Covered California’s more well-known exchange for individuals, through which 1.2 million people buy health insurance. Premium rates for the individual exchange are slated to rise 12.5 percent in 2018.

Of the six health plans currently offered through the small business exchange, one — Western Health Advantage — will not be returning in 2018. That is expected to affect 350 individuals, Covered California said.