SAN FRANCISCO — The CEO of Molina Healthcare says an Obamacare program prompted his company to raise marketplace premiums for 2017 instead of lowering them.

J. Mario Molina said his company might have cut 2017 premiums in the nine states where it sells Obamacare plans, instead of raising prices 16 percent on average. But under a risk adjustment program laid out by the healthcare law, the company was required to pay a large sum to other insurers who fared poorly in the marketplaces.