…Health insurers are already preparing to raise rates next year for plans issued under the Affordable Care Act.

But their calculation about how much depends on their ability to predict how newly enrolled customers – for whom little is known regarding health status and medical needs – will affect 2015 costs.

“We’re working with about a third of the information that we usually have,” said Brian Lobley, senior vice president of marketing and consumer business at Pennsylvania’s Independence Blue Cross. “We’ve really been combing the data to get a first look.” …

WellPoint, the biggest player in the online exchanges, is already talking about double-digit rate hikes for 2015.