Trending News Today: Health Insurance Premiums Spike

Inpatient rehabilitation stays for addiction treatments are typically 28 days, but this amount of time may not be effective for patients with opioid addiction. These facilities typically treated patients with alcohol use disorders when they first begin, and subsequently adopted the 28-day policy since that is the time it took to stabilize a patient, according to Kaiser Health News. However, not enough research has been done to discover how long the inpatient stay should be for patients with opioid use disorder, which may lead to many patients relapsing.

The state of California has placed strict rules on the use of pesticides they believe are carcinogenic. The pesticide Telone is injected into the soil to kill insects prior to planting crops, and the state alleges that the fumes can cause poor health over time. Farmers who are critical of the rule say that limiting the use of Telone may cause increased food costs, according to The New York Times.

Individuals in Delaware are facing premium increases as high as 32.5% for health insurance plans being sold on Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware increased premiums 22.4% in 2016, making their company increase premiums by 54.9% over 2 years. Highmark’s original increase request was reduced, but federal officials suggested that they accept the price hike, according to The Washington Post.