Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Congress' Battle Against Opioid Crisis Becomes Slog, As Thousands Die
Politico: Fentanyl Is Killing Thousands, But Congress Has No Answer For The Opioid Crisis
America’s drug overdose crisis is out of control. Washington, despite a bipartisan desire to combat it, is finding its addiction-fighting programs are failing. In 2018, Republicans, Democrats and then-President Donald Trump united around legislation that threw $20 billion into treatment, prevention and recovery. But five years later, the SUPPORT Act has lapsed and the number of Americans dying from overdoses has grown more than 60 percent, driven by illicit fentanyl. The battle has turned into a slog. (Paun, 10/22)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Drug Overdose Deaths Soar At Georgia Prisons
Prisons are supposed to be secure, drug-free zones that support rehabilitation. But an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation has uncovered a spike in overdose deaths that reveals in startling terms the prevalence of illicit drugs inside Georgia’s prisons. ... So far this year, medical examiners have determined that five inmates have died from accidental overdoses, but they have yet to rule on the causes of many other prison deaths. (Robbins and Teegardin, 10/20)
Texas Community Health News: Expired Narcan Still Works, But Texas Cities Are Destroying It
In 2019, the state of Texas gave out more than 230,000 doses of naloxone, a life saving medicine that can reverse opioid overdoses, through its More Narcan Please program. More than three years later, that medication, in the form of a nasal spray known as Narcan, is past the expiration date printed on its label. For some organizations, that expired Narcan is gold. (Buch, 10/23)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly Outreach Workers Delivering Naloxone, Fentanyl Testing Strips
City outreach workers are knocking on thousands of doors to give lifesaving overdose reversal drugs directly to residents in North Philadelphia neighborhoods, where overdose deaths have been rising sharply and people often lack access to addiction resources. Outreach workers from the city’s community engagement arm, Philly Counts, have been fanning out through the 19140 zip code, where 85 people died of overdoses in 2022. (Whelan, 10/21)
Stat: STAT Summit: The Fight Over Methadone, A ‘Miracle Molecule'
A doctor, a patient advocate, and the most powerful figure in the methadone treatment industry presented competing visions for the future of American addiction medicine this week — a conversation that touched on stigma, patients’ rights, and a stark divide in health provider attitudes toward patients with addiction. (Facher, 10/20)
KFF Health News: Using Opioid Settlement Cash For Police Gear Like Squad Cars And Scanners Sparks Debate
Policing expenses mount quickly: $25,000 for a law enforcement conference about fentanyl in Colorado; $18,000 for technology to unlock cellphones in Southington, Connecticut; $2,900 for surveillance cameras and to train officers and canines in New Lexington, Ohio. And in other communities around the country, hundreds of thousands for vehicles, body scanners, and other equipment. In these cases and many others, state and local governments are turning to a new means to pay those bills: opioid settlement cash. (Pattani, 10/23)
And the military cracks down on the use of performance-enhancing drugs —
Military.com: Testing Of Navy SEALs May Unveil Scale Of Performance-Enhancing Drug Use -- And Unleash Legal Battles
The Navy's Special Warfare Command is poised to begin regularly testing all Navy SEALs for performance-enhancing drugs next month, but the effort to root out the potentially dangerous substances could also lead the service into a legal minefield. The move is being presented as a reasonable safety measure by the Navy following a highly publicized sailor death, reports of widespread abuse of the drugs in the SEAL training program, and damning investigations that painted a picture of instructors showing little regard for the safety of recruits -- often pushing them beyond their physical limits. (Toropin, 10/20)
