Local insurance shoppers will also see fewer choices and higher premiums when they log on for open enrollment next week.

According to data provided by The Associated Press, the price of a “silver plan” — one of the most inexpensive plans available — will increase by 14-28 percent in 2017 for shoppers in our area.In Monroe and Carbon counties, the estimated premium for a silver plan will be $555, a 28 percent increase over 2016. People in Schuylkill, Lehigh and Northampton will pay less for the silver plan, about $409, a 14 percent increase.The estimated premium increases are still a lot less than last year, when rates went up by more than 100 percent.There are also fewer plans available to people shopping for insurance. Only two plans will be available to shoppers, down from four in 2015.Overall, fewer people in the five-county area used the exchange. But most of the losses came in Lehigh and Northampton counties. Carbon, Monroe and Schuylkill all saw more people purchase insurance from the exchange in 2016 than in 2015.— Chris Reber