Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Photo by Rick Kopstein Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday directed the state's insurance regulator to reject health insurance hikes that are directly tied to the loss of the individual mandate under Obamacare. by insurers for 2019 was attributed to the mandate's repeal. Federal lawmakers reversed the mandate as part of last year's tax overhaul. Cuomo said at an announcement in Manhattan that insurance companies should not let politics play into their predicted insurance costs. “The insurance companies are coming in and saying, well the president said the individual mandate is going to go away, and if the individual mandate goes away, the pool is going to change and therefore we need higher rates,” Cuomo said. “Insurance premiums must be based on actual cost and not political manipulations. We're not going to allow Trump to tear down our health care system.” Health insurance companies requested an average rate hike of 24 percent for the individual market in 2019, according to the DFS. The agency said about half of that increase, on average, was attributed to the repeal of the individual mandate. Fidelis, for example, said the repeal caused its rate hike request to triple from 12.7 percent before the repeal to 38.6 percent after. Emblem, which had the second-highest average rate hike behind Fidelis, was already requesting a large increase at 19.5 percent. The repeal of the mandate pushed it to request a 31.5 percent increase. Independent Health had another large rate increase because of the repeal. It requested a 21.3 percent hike—the sixth highest among companies. Without the repeal, its request would have only been a 4.7 percent increase, among the lowest. All three are members of the New York Health Plan Association, which represents various insurance providers in New York. Eric Linzer, president and CEO of the association, said in a statement that both state and federal government analysts had already predicted earlier this year that premiums would rise due to the repeal. “We agree with Governor Cuomo that decisions on health insurance premiums should be based on math not politics,” Linzer said. “Plans' estimates for the loss of the individual mandate were moderate. Actuarial calculations at both the federal and state level agree the loss of the mandate will impact rates.” The state Division of Budget and Department of Health projected double-digit rate increases earlier this year after the repeal, Linzer said. On the federal level, the Congressional Budget Office predicted average increases in the individual market of up to 10 percent. “A key priority must be maintaining a stable marketplace in New York,” Linzer said. “Politicizing the 2019 rate requests will not help in this effort.” The New York State Association of Health Underwriters, which represents health insurance agents, brokers and other professionals, did not commit to a position on Cuomo's announcement Monday. “We're withholding comment until we learn more about the outcome of today's announcement and how the 2019 individual health insurance rates will be impacted,” the association's board said. Insurance rate increases are usually approved by the state in August. DFS Superintendent Maria Vullo attended the announcement with Cuomo.