Cigna To Step Into War Against Opioid Epidemic
The health insurer plans to use predictive analytics to identify customers who are at the highest risk for an opioid overdose and develop partnerships in those areas to help combat the crisis. In other news: the government pulls funding for a pain relief training; a lobbying blitz has been launched on Capitol Hill as lawmakers vote on opioid measures; and more.
The Hill:
Cigna Announces Goal To Reduce Drug Overdoses By 25 Percent In Key Areas
Cigna, one of the country’s largest health insurers, announced Thursday an initiative to reduce drug overdoses 25 percent by 2021 in certain communities hit by the opioid epidemic. The effort will focus initially on four states — Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia — as well as the metropolitan areas of Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. (Roubein, 6/21)
The Associated Press:
Pain Medicine Group Cancels Doctor Training About Marijuana
A national medical group Thursday abruptly canceled its plans to train doctors about marijuana for pain relief after a federal agency pulled its funding. The episode highlights an ongoing conflict between federal and state laws on marijuana. The American Academy of Pain Medicine scrubbed its plans for a one-hour online course next month after a request from the U.S. government agency that provided the funding, a spokeswoman for the pain medicine group said. (Johnson, 6/21)
Politico Pro:
Opioid Bills Unleash Lobbying Blitz From Health Companies Eyeing Windfall
House lawmakers are speeding through votes on dozens of bills aimed at responding in force to the opioid crisis — and in the process, quietly boosting the fortunes of a handful of drugmakers and health interests invested in addressing the addiction epidemic. In a two-week legislative blitz, the House has backed narrowly tailored measures that could spur sales for selected companies that have collectively spent millions on lobbying in recent months, according to a review of the more than five dozen bills up for votes. (Cancryn, 6/21)
Kaiser Health News:
Doling Out Pain Pills Post-Surgery: An Ingrown Toenail Not The Same As A Bypass
What’s the right painkiller prescription to send home with a patient after gallbladder surgery or a cesarean section? That question is front and center as conventional approaches to pain control in the United States have led to what some see as a culture of overprescribing, helping spur the nation’s epidemic of opioid overuse and abuse.The answer isn’t clear-cut. (Appleby, 6/22)
Chicago Tribune:
To Combat Opioid Crisis, Suburb Will Have Overdose-Reversing Naloxone Available In Public Places
Elk Grove Village will become one of the few towns in America to put overdose-reversing medication in public places, a key step in what Mayor Craig Johnson said will be a wide-ranging strategy to battle the opioid epidemic. Johnson said at a news conference Thursday that the village will put kits containing the nasal spray form of naloxone in libraries, park district buildings and Village Hall, among other places. The village also wants to make the antidote widely available in schools and private businesses, similar to how defibrillators are placed in common areas. (Keilman, 6/21)
