Premiums for Californians' Obamacare health coverage will rise by an average of 13.2% next year — more than three times the increase of the last two years and a jump that is bound to raise debate in an election year.

The big hikes come after two years in which California officials had boasted that the program helped insure hundreds of thousands people in the state while keeping costs moderately in check.

Premiums in the insurance program called Covered California rose just 4% in 2016, after rising 4.2% in 2015 — the first year that exchange officials negotiated with insurers.

On Tuesday, officials blamed next year's premium hikes in the program that insures 1.4 million Californians on rising costs of medical care, including expensive specialty drugs and the end of a mechanism that held down rates for the first three years of Obamacare.

Two of the state's biggest insurers — Blue Shield of California and Anthem Inc. — asked for the biggest hikes.  Blue Shield's premiums jumped by an average of more than 19%, according to officials, and Anthem's rates rose by more than 16%.

For consumers, the impact will depend on whether they get taxpayer-supported subsidies for their premiums and whether they are willing to switch to less-expensive plans that may come with higher co-pays and deductibles. Changing plans could also mean a new network of physicians, which could be disruptive to care for those with chronic conditions.

The rates vary significantly by region and insurer. Los Angeles and the rest of southwest Los Angeles County will see an average increase of almost 14%.

Blue Shield's preferred provider organization rate in Los Angeles, chosen by 21% of those using the exchange, is increasing by an average of 19.5%. For a 40-year-old single person making between $17,820 and $23,760, choosing a "silver" level plan, the monthly rate currently is $122 monthly for that plan, while the government pays Blue Shield $196. Next year that same person would pay $170, while the government would chip in $211 a month.

"We're paying more for less," said Jamie Court, the president of Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica.  "Insurers are limiting access to doctors and hospitals while also demanding a higher price."