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Corporate headquarters of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama in Birmingham (file)

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama is seeking an average rate increase of 39 percent on individual plans offered through the Obamacare marketplace, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The proposed rate hikes will affect more than 160,000 people in Alabama who purchase insurance through the federal exchange, or about 5 percent of Blue Cross membership.

Rate increases range from 26 to 41 percent, depending on the type of plan. Proposed increases are lowest for bronze plans, which offer the least amount of coverage, and greatest for the most popular silver plans.

Blue Cross is the only insurance company that will offer Alabamians individual insurance plans through the exchange next year after the departure of Humana and UnitedHealth. Those departures were announced earlier this year.

The hefty rate hikes for Blue Cross customers will come on the heels of another increase in 2016 that averaged 28 percent for individual plans. The company lost more than $250 million on marketplace plans from 2014 to 2016, according to Blue Cross executives.

The high costs of individual marketplace customers in Alabama also factored into the departures of UnitedHealth and Humana, according to statements by those companies.

"The exiting of other insurers from the state is a clear indication of the difficulty in providing ACA health plans at the most affordable price without incurring significant financial losses," according to a statement released by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama.

Individual customers who purchase through the exchange have higher rates of costly conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and hepatitis C, according to Blue Cross. They use more medical services, including prescriptions and emergency room visits, than other insurance customers.

Without competition from other insurance providers, customers on the individual market have no option to shop around for cheaper coverage.

"It puts Blue Cross in a take it or leave position if we want to buy health insurance, which is outrageous," wrote former hospital administrator and healthcare activist Doug Hoffman in an email.

Hoffman also said the increase may not have much effect on low-income customers who receive subsidies from the federal government. But high-income buyers will pay more if they don't qualify for government support. According to a spokesman from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about nine out of 10 customers receive subsidies to offset the costs of coverage and will not experience large rate increases.

According to documents available online, Blue Cross spends more on the health care costs of individual marketplace customers than it collects through copayments and premiums. Costs for medical care are expected to rise substantially again in 2017, driven by rising prices for hospital care and prescription drugs.

Officials with the Alabama Department of Insurance are reviewing the proposed rate increases and will issue an opinion in September about whether the increases are justified or not, said department spokesman Mark Fowler. He would not comment on the requested increases until the review is complete. Before this year, rate increases were not reviewed by state regulators.

Customers who will be affected by the increases can find out more here. The link also includes an email address where consumers can submit comments to the state department of insurance.

There is some good news for small group plans, which cover about 230,000 people in Alabama who work in businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Rate hikes proposed by Blue Cross for those members are much lower - ranging from about 3 to 5 percent.

"The 2010 Affordable Care Act overhauled how health plans could be designed, priced and sold," the Blue Cross statement said. "Blue Cross recognizes and regrets the impact these proposed rate increases will have on our ACA individual and small business customers. Though the ACA individual market is challenging at this time, we hope this market will eventually stabilize."

Updated at 4:07 p.m. to include information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services