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Health

June 11, 2026
Marlena Close of Applied Team Insurance logs into her computer while checking her voicemail in Hazel Dell on Feb. 3. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian files)

Health insurance rate hikes likely next year

Clark County residents can expect to pay more for health insurance again next year as companies ask the state insurance commissioner to consider approving an average 22.4 percent rate increase for individual plans.

May 21, 2026
AP Photo/Marshall Ritzel, File
Vaping increased among Clark County 10th graders, according to Washington’s new Healthy Youth Survey.

Healthy Youth Survey shows local progress

Students in Clark County reported lower rates of depression and suicidal feelings compared with recent years, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s latest “Healthy Youth Survey.”

May 14, 2026
Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center is pictured Sept. 10, 2024. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian files)

Regence, Legacy Health reach agreement on insurance coverage

Clark County residents with Regence health insurance can once again access all Legacy Health hospitals, clinics, urgent cares and services at in-network rates and benefits after the two organizations reached a new agreement May 6.

May 7, 2026
Lynne Lyne and her mother, Jacque, celebrating Lyne’s birthday. (Photo contributed by Lynne Lyne)

Demand for in-home care for elders growing

Lynne Lyne decided to move her 93-year-old mother, Jacque, into her Camas home in 2022 after noticing her mother’s cognitive decline worsening alongside her father’s health. It was a difficult decision and one that quickly proved harder in practice.