Large health care premiums loomingWASHINGTON — The largest health insurer in Texas wants to raise its rates on individual policies by an average of nearly 60 percent, an indication that health care reform hasn’t solved the problem of price spikes.Texas isn’t alone. Citing financial losses under the health care law, many insurers around the country are requesting bigger premium increases for 2017. That’s to account for lower-than-hoped enrollment, sicker-than-expected customers and problems with the government’s financial backstop for insurance markets.The national picture will take weeks to fill in. With data available for about half the states, premium increases appear to be sharper, but there are also huge differences between states and among insurers. Health insurance is priced locally.Earlier this week, North Carolina’s largest insurer said it will seek an average increase of 18.8 percent.A recent analysis of nine states by the consulting firm Avalere Health found that average premium increases for the most popular kind of plan ranged from 5 percent in Washington state to 44 percent in Vermont.Millions of customers will be shielded from price hikes by government subsidies, which typically cover more than 70 percent of the premiums. People who don’t have access to a workplace plan can buy a policy directly on the health law’s marketplaces.But many consumers aren’t eligible for the income-based subsidies and get no such protection. That demographic includes small business owners, self-employed people and early retirees. Under the law, most Americans are required to have health insurance or risk being fined.

Professor victim of UCLA shootingLOS ANGELES — The victim of a murder-suicide that locked down the UCLA campus for hours was a mechanical engineering professor who was married with two children, according to authorities and friends.A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the case identified the victim as William Klug.The shooter in Wednesday’s violence has not been named.Those who knew the 39-year-old Klug said he was kind and patient, and that there was no indication he had a conflict with anyone.“He’s a great guy, great father, great husband,” said Peter Gianusso, president of the El Segundo Little League and a friend of the Klug’s.