Connector rates may increase by 26 percent

Insurance rates for some Bay State residents purchasing plans through the state’s Health Connector could jump by as much as 26 percent next year if insurers no longer receive the federal subsidies that President Trump has blocked.

A spokesman for the state’s health insurance exchange said the higher costs could be felt by up to 80,000 people during the open enrollment period beginning Nov. 1. Initially, rates had been expected to rise by 8 percent.

The federal cost-sharing program made payments directly to insurers to cover costs for people who obtain insurance through the connector and have incomes under 250 percent of the federal poverty level — around $30,000 for an individual and $62,000 for a family of four. Those payments helped cover outof-pocket costs, including deductibles, copayments and coinsurance.

The payments were included in former President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care law, the Affordable Care Act. Massachusetts health officials estimate the federal government would have paid $146 million in cost-sharing expenses in 2018 in the state without the change Trump wants.

The state will offset the losses for the remainder of 2017, estimated at $28 million.

Trump, a Republican, has said Obama’s health care law is imploding and has portrayed the subsidies as insurance company bailouts.

The payments reimburse insurance companies for lowering copayments and deductibles for about 6 million lower-income customers.

Attorneys general in nearly 20 states — including Massachusetts — have sued the Trump administration to keep the money flowing, contending that the president is not following a legal requirement to pay the subsidies.