PROVIDENCE — The state’s three commercial health plans withdrew requests Friday for double-digit rate increases for next winter, a move that state Health Insurance Commissioner Christopher S. Koller estimated could save employers roughly $150 million annually in increased premiums.

But many people will continue to see their premiums go up this fall, as last year’s rate increases kick in when they renew their policies.

And while some businesses will get a reprieve from the proposed rate increases of up to 16 percent, that may only be temporary.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, one of the state’s largest insurers, said it is not freezing rates. Rather, using rate factors previously approved by the health commissioner, the company said it was going to raise rates for large-group customers by 9 percent and small-group customers by 7 percent as they renew their policies.

Blue Cross President James E. Purcell said in a statement that those rates are inadequate and will result in a loss of $30 million to the insurer over the next six months. As a result, Purcell said, Blue Cross will be seeking another rate increase before the end of the year.

No comments were provided from the other two insurers, UnitedHealthCare of New England and Tufts Health Plan.

In June, Koller rejected rate increases proposed by the three companies that would have ranged from 13 to 16 percent. He said the increases were not justified by the documents submitted by the companies, and that Rhode Island businesses had reached a tipping point in their ability to pay more for health insurance.

“This is simply not acceptable,” Koller said in a letter to the companies. He said they had a choice of withdrawing or supporting their proposals in rate hearings scheduled to begin in mid-July.

(Days later, the House Finance Committee produced a new state budget that axed funds for Koller and his staff. Funding was quickly restored, however, after widespread objections from consumers, business people and political leaders.)

Koller noted yesterday that despite his rejection of the rate increases, health-insurance costs will keep rising unless insurers, providers, consumers and public officials “work to change the system that is making health care unaffordable for too many people.”

When judging the proposed rate increases, Koller said he evaluated what costs were being cited by the insurance companies. He said he found three key areas:

•Estimated increases in hospital prices and usage were responsible for 50 percent of the proposed increases.

•Increases in physician prices and usage were responsible for 20 percent of the proposed rate increases.

•Increases in administrative costs, profits and contributions to reserves were responsible for the remaining 30 percent.

“While insurer administrative costs and profits must be watched carefully, 80 to 85 percent of health-insurance premiums are for medical costs,” Koller said. “If employers and individuals do not want to see the relentless increases in their health-insurance premiums, we must change the way medical services are organized, paid for and used. This change will not happen in the six months before health insurers refile their rate factors, but inaction by the health plans and public- and private-sector leaders guarantees this situation will worsen.”

Purcell of Blue Cross said his company remains committed “to improving quality, reducing waste and ultimately moderating the rise in health-care costs.”

He said, “We fully understand that many of us, individuals and businesses alike, are suffering as a result of the current economic recession. Yet, it is important to underscore that our original request was well-documented and justified, and it was made in the interest of ensuring that Blue Cross is here to serve Rhode Islanders for years to come.”

plord@projo.com