Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Could Product That Helps Customers Dispose Of Unused Opioids Help Curb Crisis? Walmart Thinks So.
The Washington Post: As Opioid Crisis Rages, Walmart Hopes This Powder Packet Will Keep People From Abusing Painkillers
In an effort to help fight the nation’s opioid epidemic, Walmart is giving its pharmacy customers a free drug disposal product to help customers safely discard of painkillers they don’t want or need. A small packet of DisposeRX powder will be automatically handed to customers filling new Class II opioid prescriptions, and those with chronic prescriptions will be given a free packet every six months, Walmart announced in a statement Wednesday. Officials said the product is a quick and secure way for people who might be concerned about someone abusing their excess pills to throw them away: Just fill the 2/3rds of the prescription vial with water, add the DisposeRX powder and screw on the cap before shaking the vial for about 30 seconds. (Eltagouri, 1/17)
Bloomberg: Wal-Mart To Offer Pill-Disposal Product To Curb Opioid Abuse
The move comes as the U.S. grapples with the scourge of opioid addiction, an affliction that often begins when chronic-pain sufferers fill a prescription at a retail pharmacy chain like Wal-Mart, CVS or Walgreens. More than two out of three people misusing prescription opioids get them from family and friends, according to federal data. Opioid overdose deaths rose 28 percent in 2016, to 42,000 men, women and children. (Boyle, 1/17)
Sacramento Bee: Got Leftover Opioid Medication? Walmart Now Offering Free Opioid Disposal
Opioid abuse has skyrocketed in the United States in the last 25 years and accounts for the greatest proportion of prescription drug abuse, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. By 2002, death certificates listed opioid poisoning as a cause of death more commonly than heroin or cocaine. (Sullivan, 1/17)
Nashville Tennessean: Opioids: Republican Report Suggests Medicaid Fraud Is Helping Drive Epidemic
A new congressional report suggests that Medicaid is helping drive the nation’s opioid crisis by making it easier for enrollees to abuse and then resell the highly addictive painkillers. At least 1,072 people have been convicted or charged nationwide since 2010 for improperly using Medicaid to obtain prescription opioids, some of which were then resold on the nation’s streets, according to the report by Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. (Collins, 1/17)
Los Angeles Times: To Reduce The Risk Of Opioid Addiction, Study Suggests Higher Doses But Fewer Refills
Health experts have an intriguing suggestion for reducing opioid overdoses and deaths — asking doctors to prescribe bigger doses of the powerful painkillers. It may sound counterintuitive, but providing more pain relief to patients right away might allow them to stop taking the pills sooner. And reducing the total amount of time that patients are on opioids could ultimately reduce the risk of addiction and abuse, new research suggests. (Kaplan, 1/17)
Stat: SEC Greenlights AmerisourceBergen Shareholder Proposals Tied To Opioid Crisis
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to allow AmerisourceBergen shareholders to vote on a proposal demanding the wholesaler provide more information on steps taken to manage financial and reputational risks associated with the opioid crisis. The agency also allowed another proposal to proceed in which the company would have to disclose if its board clawed back compensation from senior executives due to misconduct. The decisions are a victory for a coalition of 40 institutional investors that are pressuring drug makers and distributors to investigate how the companies are responding to increased business risks caused by the opioid crisis. The investors noted that AmerisourceBergen (ABC) reached a $16 million settlement last year with the West Virginia attorney general for failing to report suspicious orders of controlled substances. (Silverman, 1/17)
The Hill: Dems Question Decision To End Registry For Substance Abuse, Mental Health Programs
Top Democrats in the Senate are questioning the Trump administration over its decision to end a national registry for evidence-based mental health and substance abuse programs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) ended the contract for the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) earlier this month, calling it a flawed and ineffective system. (Hellmann, 1/17)
The Wall Street Journal: Eleven Indicted For Trafficking ‘Pray For Death’ Opioids
Nearly a dozen people were indicted Wednesday for trafficking heroin and fentanyl throughout New York City, prosecutors said. The 11 suspects are accused of distributing heroin laced with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid driving fatal overdoses, in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey from 2015 to this month, according to the indictment unsealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Eight of the 11 suspects were arrested Wednesday morning. (Kanno-Youngs, 1/17)
The Associated Press: Philadelphia Sues Opioid Makers In Response To Epidemic
Philadelphia has filed a lawsuit against drug companies that make prescription opioids, saying they’ve created “an unprecedented public health crisis. ”It seeks to halt what the city calls deceptive marketing practices and force the drugmakers to pay for treatment costs and reimburse it for the money it has spent responding to the addiction epidemic. (1/17)
