Hawaii-based University Health Alliance requested an 8.9% average rate increase in 2018 for its Affordable Care Act state exchange plans, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The company also requested an increase between 6.5% and 15.3% in its small-group rate.

Of the 8.9% increase, 5.5% to 6% is attributed to medical inflation and the rest is primarily for the health insurance tax set to return in 2018, President and CEO Howard Lee told the newspaper.

The company collected about $27.6 million in premiums in 2016 and paid total claims of about $21.1 million, according to the report.

University Health Alliance maintained that the 2018 rate request reflects increasing medical and prescription drug costs, including changes in reimbursement rates to providers, utilization, services and new technologies, the publication wrote.