Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Trump's Off-Script Vow To Declare National Emergency For Opioid Crisis, Officials Are Scrambling
Politico: Trump Blindsides Advisers With Promised Opioid Plan
President Donald Trump overrode his own advisers when he promised to deliver an emergency declaration next week to combat the nation’s worsening opioid crisis. “That is a very, very big statement,” he said Monday. “It's a very important step. ... We're going to be doing it in the next week.” (Ehley and Dawsey and Karlin-Smith, 10/20)
Stat: While Federal Standards To Battle The Opioid Epidemic Take Shape, States Codify Their Own
There is little that resembles a current and all-encompassing drug policy in the United States. A national drug control plan issued by the Obama administration last year was written immediately prior to a White House transition, and many hoping for a newer framework are waiting for next month’s reveal of a new presidential commission’s final report on the opioid epidemic. A new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, however, shows that many of the elements that could soon be codified as federal guidance are already creeping toward national standards in a patchwork fashion, apparent in the regulations imposed by a number of states for implementing Medicaid. (Facher, 10/19)
