Some Republican lawmakers in Richmond say rising health insurance costs are not sustainable, and they're bracing for increases next year.

Estimates show the average Virginia health care plans will see a rate increase of 15 percent for 2017. Some lawmakers say the problem with this is families are not seeing household incomes go up anywhere close to that each year.

"This is a systemic problem when you start talking about what you can do to help the middle class. One of the things we've got to do is get our handle around this unsustainable cost curve," said 7th District Senator Frank Wagner (R).

The issue was taken up this week by the commonwealth’s Health Insurance Reform Commission, which heard an update from the Bureau of Insurance.

"That's a little hard for some folks to swallow, but each year they have an opportunity to review all of the plans and all of the carriers in their area and they can chose a different plan, which they couldn't do prior to that it was very difficult to move from one carrier to another. Now it's much easier," said David Shea, Bureau of Insurance health actuary.

Some plans could go down slightly during open enrollment - depending on provider and the market - but most Virginians will see a spike in their premiums. However, some plans could increase by 70 or 90 percent.

Members of the GOP say small businesses and families will have trouble keeping up with these expenses in the long run.

"I think it's really one of the most critical pieces to our economy and where the money's going. And that's why it's very important that this committee continue to look at it and for ways that we can address medical costs," said 22nd District Delegate Kathy Byron (R).

A representative of a health insurance regulatory agency for Virginia says more stability is expected as the number of uninsured declines, and more people adjust to changes form the Affordable Care Act.

"For a brand new market as large and complicated as health insurance, we're still in its relative infancy," Shea said.

Shea says it's important for people to carefully review their options, either through employers or on the exchange.