Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union group and individual health insurance plans in New York are requesting rate increases of just over 11 percent for 2021, a full two percent above the requests submitted a year ago. The real increases could come in 2022 when the costs of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are fully realized. Leslie Moran, vice president of the state Health Plan Association, said the companies did not yet have a full rundown of their COVID-related costs when the requests were filed with the state Department of Financial Services, the department that regulates pricing. Last year, the average request was about 9 percent, but the state okayed just under 7 percent. DFS typically makes its rate decisions at the end of the summer. There are any number of factors that could impact the insurance rates including postponed elective surgeries that may be pushed into 2021, and the cost of a COVID-19 vaccine and treatment could impact rates. A possible resurgence of the virus would also have an impact. Some of the highest group requests were with Aetna Life at 19.6 percent, Oscar at 29.1 percent and Emblem at 20.9 percent. For the individual market, the increase requests averaged 11.7 percent, but Fidelis is looking for 18.8 percent and Oscar 19.1 percent. Firms popular in the Capital Region including the CDPHP group plan at 7.4 percent and MVP Health at 4.1 percent. Read the full story in the Times Union.