Higher prices and fewer choices on the Illinois marketplace will make choosing a health plan for 2017 a potentially frustrating experience for families who buy their own coverage. The Illinois Department of Insurance released information Wednesday on rates it submitted to federal officials. Statewide, the average rate increase for a typical benchmark plan is 43 percent.

And it’s not just the public marketplace that is seeing substantial health insurance rate increases. Murphysboro city leaders were told this week that the city’s rates for employee health insurance would jump 65.27 percent. The city is on the search for a new provider.