Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Azar OKs Expanded Access To Medication-Assisted Therapies For Those Addicted To Opioids
The New York Times: F.D.A. To Expand Medication-Assisted Therapy For Opioid Addicts
In an effort to encourage new treatments for opioid addiction, the Food and Drug Administration plans to begin permitting pharmaceutical companies to sell medications that help temper cravings, even if they don’t fully stop addiction. The change is part of a wider effort to expand access to so-called medication-assisted treatment, or MAT. The agency will issue draft guidelines in the next few weeks. A senior agency official provided details of the proposal to The New York Times. (Kaplan, 2/25)
The Hill: HHS Chief Pitches New Measures To Expand Opioid Addiction Treatment
In his first extensive remarks on the opioid epidemic, set to be delivered Saturday, Azar announces two measures aimed at increasing this form of treatment. “Medication-assisted treatment works,” Azar says in prepared remarks for a session of the National Governors Association's winter meeting that were shared with The Hill. “The evidence on this is voluminous and ever growing.” (Roubein, 2/24)
Modern Healthcare: Week Ahead: House Launching 'Aggressive' Legislative Agenda On Opioids
Months after President Donald Trump first designated the opioid epidemic as a public health emergency and weeks after Congress announced $6 billion in new funding for states to battle the problem, the House of Representatives will kick off its first big policy effort to manage the crisis. On Wednesday in the first of three scheduled hearings, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee will examine a packet of bills that focus more on enforcement than treatment. The legislation emerging from these hearings will likely be this Congress' final substantive health policy push before the 2018 midterm elections. (Luthi, 2/24)
The Hill: Opioid Deaths Mounting, Lawmakers Hit Gas On New Legislative Push
Congress is moving to take a second crack at opioid legislation, with lawmakers broadly agreeing that they need to do more to deal with a crisis that’s killing more than 42,000 people per year. There’s a sense of urgency to the push, as lawmakers continue to hear story after story of people in their communities dying from overdoses. The crisis is showing no signs of abating, as the rate of opioid overdose deaths increased nearly 28 percent from 2015 to 2016. (Roubein, 2/25)
And in other news —
The New York Times: For Executives, Addiction Recovery In The Lap Of Luxury
Trey Laird knew his life looked good. After graduating from an elite prep school in Manhattan and then Dartmouth College, he began working in finance and climbed a well-worn path to professional success and financial comfort. He lived with his wife and two children in Darien, Conn., one of the wealthiest communities in the United States. He always liked to party: “I was the guy playing beer pong in the basement at the fraternity,” he said. But after having his appendix removed, he got hooked on prescription pain pills. (Sullivan, 2/23)
Stat: A South Texas County Drags PBMs Into Nationwide Lawsuit Over Opioids
Amassive lawsuit in Ohio over the nation’s opioid crisis has largely ignored an influential group of companies in the prescription drug business — the financial middlemen that brokered access to the powerful pills that got so many people hooked. Perhaps that’s because their role is simply harder to see. Known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), these companies secretly make the rules that determine the availability of drugs, and how much patients must pay out of pocket to get them. (Ross, 2/26)
The Star Tribune: Minn. Agencies Pushing For Faster Access To Drug Treatment
State and county agencies are eliminating long-standing obstacles to treatment, starting with Minnesota’s complicated process for determining whether people struggling with addiction qualify for publicly funded care. By July, evaluations will be streamlined across the state and many people seeking help will be approved for treatment within hours instead of weeks. (Serres, 2/24)
New Hampshire Public Radio: As Drug Treatment Center Closes In Claremont, Question Remains: What’s Next?
Craig Perry stopped by the Claremont office of Hope for New Hampshire Recovery on Thursday afternoon. He struggled with addiction for a good chunk of his 20s, but now, at 30 years old, he’s been clean for about a year and a half. His drug problems started when he took his first job after college, he said. He’d get high on lunch breaks. “I didn’t know it’d affect me like that,” he said. “More and more, and then I had to go to heavier stuff.” He’s been coming to the center here for about five months. He has a close relationship with its manager, who's been a bedrock counselor in his recovery. (Greene, 2/25)
