Many West Virginians will be paying more for health care this year under a package of rate increases the Health Care Authority has approved for 15 hospitals.

The increases affect people with private insurance and those who pay out of their own pocket.

According to The Charleston Gazette, Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling will have a 5.09 percent increase, from an average of $18,206 per stay last year to $19,132 in 2013.

The newspaper reported that hospital administrators call the increases routine and said they allow the facilities to keep up with rising costs.

The rate hikes range from as low as 1.24 percent at Bluefield Regional Medical Center to as high as 8.7 percent at Fairmont General Hospital. The newspaper reported only one rate was lowered: Charleston Surgical Hospital's rate is falling by less than half of 1 percent.

The authority approved the new rates this week.