After Weeks Of Delay On Opioids Legislation, Senate Keys Up Bipartisan Package For Vote Next Week
The sweeping legislation promises $500 million dollars for the states to fight the opioid epidemic -- an important issue going into the midterms for both parties -- and is similar to what the House produced. Other news on opioids looks at efforts to stem foreign fentanyl supplies, Colorado's lawsuit against Purdue, Maryland's misconduct charges against Insys Therapeutics, Endo's attempt to limit lawsuits, a decision by Blue Cross to stop paying for OxyContin, and more.
The Hill:
Senate To Vote Next Week On Opioid Package
The Senate will vote next week on a package of bills aimed at curbing the nation's opioid epidemic, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Thursday. McConnell's spokesman said that Democrats had dropped their holds on the legislation. Some Democrats had previously objected to a provision, calling it an earmark for a PhRMA-funded advocacy group. (Hellmann, 9/6)
Politico:
Senate Set To Vote On Opioid Response Package Next Week
The agreement comes after weeks of slowed negotiations between lawmakers over hot-button provisions like requiring Medicaid to cover treatment at more inpatient facilities and loosening privacy restrictions for substance-abuse patients' medical records. Neither provision made it into the final deal, but they are part of an opioid response package passed by the House earlier this year. (Ehley and Tahir, 9/6)
Modern Healthcare:
Authorities Boost Efforts To Stem Overseas Opioid Production, Distribuition
Authorities are ramping up their efforts to identify fentanyl flooding the U.S. from China, control the ingredients used to make the deadly synthetic opioid, and prosecute and eliminate the manufacturers. The U.S. State Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency are working with Chinese and Mexican authorities to bolster technology and training to facilitate real-time supply chain data sharing, improve detection of illicit opioids sent via mail, eliminate clandestine labs that produce the products, regulate the precursor drugs used to make the addictive painkillers, and better trace digital transactions. (Kacik, 9/6)
Denver Post:
Colorado Sues Purdue Pharma For Role In Opioid Crisis
The number of lawsuits filed by states against Purdue Pharma L.P., the maker of prescription painkiller Oxycontin, continues to grow as Colorado’s attorney general on Thursday became the latest to sue the company for its role in the nation’s opioid crisis. Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, in a statement, accused Purdue Pharma of violating the state’s consumer protection law, saying the company ignited the epidemic through “fraudulent and deceptive marketing of prescription opioids.” (Seaman, 9/6)
The Associated Press:
Maryland Charges Opioid Maker With Major Misconduct
Maryland authorities announced charges Thursday against an Arizona-based drugmaker that they say engaged in a nationwide scheme "characterized by extraordinary misconduct" to boost profits amid the coast-to-coast opioid epidemic. The office of Attorney General Brian Frosh filed charges against Insys Therapeutics alleging multiple violations of the state's consumer protection law. The pharmaceutical company makes a highly addictive opioid spray used to manage uncontrollable pain for adult cancer patients, but Frosh says Insys joined with local health care providers in a "calculated scheme" to target non-cancer patients, including those seeking relief from knee or back pain. (9/6)
Bloomberg:
Endo Said To Seek Separate Settlement To End Opioid Lawsuits
Endo International Plc is seeking to resolve all lawsuits over its Opana painkiller in a deal that would cap its legal exposure and pull it out of talks with other drugmakers and distributors seeking an industrywide settlement of opioid litigation, according to three people familiar with the talks. No numbers have yet been proposed in the talks between lawyers for Endo and attorneys for states, cities and counties, but there have been discussions about changing the way the company markets drugs, according to people who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. (Feeley and Hopkins, 9/6)
Nashville Tennessean:
Blue Cross To Stop Covering OxyContin In Tennessee Next Year
The largest health insurance company in Tennessee will stop covering OxyContin prescriptions next year as part of sweeping policy changes intended to combat opioid addiction and make pain pills less valuable on the black market. The shift is a major blow to one of the drugs that ignited the nationwide opioid epidemic. In place of OxyContin, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will instead encourage doctors to prescribe two other painkillers that are engineered to be more difficult to abuse. (Kelman, 9/6)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
A Year After Closing Its Doors, Claremont Needle Exchange Could Open Again
The Claremont school board voted Wednesday to allow a needle exchange program to operate at Valley Regional Hospital. The program needed board sign-off because of the hospital’s proximity to a local elementary zone. (Greene, 9/6)
