Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Democrats Seek Answers Over Spike In Pricing For Overdose Antidote
Stat: Lawmakers Demand Info On Opioid Overdose Antidote After Price Hike
Once again, lawmakers are pressuring a company that sells a version of naloxone, a decades-old drug that is widely used to reverse the effect of opioid and heroin overdoses, to explain its pricing. A group of 31 US senators — all Democrats — sent a letter on Wednesday to Kaleo seeking pricing data about its Evzio treatment, along with production costs, donation programs, and reimbursement from federal health care programs. The letter was sent after the company recently began selling a stronger version of the antidote at an even higher price than an older version that contains less medicine. (Silverman, 2/8)
In other news on the opioid crisis —
Kaiser Health News: Obama’s Drug Czar: The Opioid Crisis Must Continue To Be A Federal Priority
The GOP is working to repeal and replace the 2010 health law, known for insuring more than 20 million people. And the change could affect another health concern: the nation’s opioid abuse problem. Just ask President Barack Obama’s former “drug czar,” Michael Botticelli. (Luthra, 2/9)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Seeks To Curb Prescriptions For Addictive Painkillers
Health officials say they're clamping down on excessive prescriptions for opioids in the state's Medicaid program — part of a larger effort to curb runaway addiction that often begins with painkillers. Under a policy that goes into effect in July, doctors in the program that serves one in five Marylanders will need prior authorization to write some prescriptions for the drugs. (Cohn, 2/8)
