Insurance officials start plan reviewHARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s insurance regulators are starting a review of health plans for coverage next year through the federal marketplaces, including several that seek premium increases in excess of 40 percent.The Department of Insurance said the proposed premium increase for 18 individual plans filed this week average 23.6 percent.Premiums in six plans for this year rose by more than 20 percent, while premiums in six plans rose by less than 2 percent or dropped. The department says final 2017 rates will be approved in October.Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller acknowledged that the proposed rate increases are a concern, and says several factors driving up rate proposals may be short-lived.The department said 509,000 Pennsylvanians are covered through individual health plans and 375,000 are covered through small group plans under the 2010 reform law.

Steelmaker claims trade secrets stolenBEIJING — U.S. regulators are investigating whether Chinese steelmakers used stolen American trade secrets in a case that adds to tensions over accusations Beijing is flooding markets with cheap steel.The International Trade Commission said Thursday it was responding to a complaint by U.S. Steel Corp. that competitors benefited from information about steel production that was stolen in 2011 by Chinese government hackers. It said possible responses requested by U.S. Steel include blocking imports of carbon and alloy steel made using the stolen knowledge.Beijing also faces mounting criticism that it is exporting steel at unfairly low prices.