Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Elizabeth Warren Lambastes Sackler Family, Purdue Pharma As She Unveils $100B Plan To Combat Opioid Epidemic
The New York Times: Elizabeth Warren, Unveiling Opioid Plan, Says She Will Give Sackler Family’s Donations To Charity
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts escalated her criticism of the pharmaceutical industry, announcing she would donate the campaign contributions she has received from the family of the pharmaceutical magnate Raymond Sackler, and calling on Harvard University to remove the Sackler name from all campus buildings where it appears. Ms. Warren, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, made the announcement as she unveiled a plan on Wednesday to fight the opioid crisis raging in the United States. (Herndon, 5/8)
The Associated Press: Warren Releases $100 Billion Plan To Combat Opioid Epidemic
Warren's new opioids measure is modeled on a 1990 law passed to help fight the spread of AIDS and would be paid for using her proposed tax on the wealthiest American households. The Massachusetts senator released her new plan Wednesday ahead of a campaign trip to Ohio and West Virginia, where she'll visit a town that sued drug companies. Warren ties the opioid epidemic to the influence of drug companies' "money and power" in America. Drug companies have largely denied that their distribution practices contributed to the nation's rising opioid overdose rate. (Schor, 5/8)
Bloomberg: Elizabeth Warren Opioid Plan: $100 Billion To Fight Epidemic
Under her plan, $40 billion dollars would go to states and localities to deal with opioid addiction by prevention, treatment and recovery, according to a summary provided by the Massachusetts senator’s staff. An extra $27 billion would go to the hardest-hit counties and cities. The remaining money would be used for surveillance of public health, biomedical research and training health professionals, delivering services and broadening access to drugs that reverse overdoses. (Kapur, 5/8)
CQ: Warren Releases Opioid Plan Ahead Of Appalachian Campaign Stops
“Real, structural change to address this crisis is going to take new leadership in Washington,” Warren wrote in a Medium post. “Leadership that will hold business executives that cheat and defraud and addict people responsible for their criminal acts.” (Raman, 5/8)
Boston Globe: In Latest Policy Push, Warren Revives Plan To Tackle Opioid Crisis
Warren said that the opioid crisis has had a severe impact on “communities of color” and tied attacking the problem to her campaign’s themes of fighting greed and corruption while standing up for average Americans. “The ongoing opioid crisis is about health care. But it’s about more than that,” she wrote in a blog post on the Medium website Wednesday. “It’s about money and power in America - who has it, and who doesn’t. And it’s about who faces accountability in America — and who doesn’t.” (Prignano, 5/8)
Boston Globe: Warren Urges Harvard To Drop Sackler Name From Museum Over Family’s Opioid Ties
US Senator and presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday called on Harvard University to strip its buildings of the name of the Sackler family, whose company makes the drug OxyContin and faces multiple legal battles over the extent of its role in the national opioid crisis. Harvard has previously faced protests over its ties to the family, though the university has said it would be inappropriate to return donations or remove the name from the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, home of Harvard’s collection of Middle Eastern and Asian art. (Rosen, 5/8)
The Wall Street Journal: Elizabeth Warren To Offset Donations From Family Tied To OxyContin Maker
Ms. Warren, writing in a post on the website Medium—as she often does when announcing policy positions—takes aim at the Sacklers, noting that OxyContin is a powerful opioid painkiller that caused widespread addiction after hitting the U.S. market in 1996. Purdue and other companies are facing more than 1,600 lawsuits from cities, counties and states over their alleged role in sparking the opioid crisis through deceptive and aggressive marketing. The Sacklers have broadly denied the allegations. In 2007, a federal investigation of Purdue led the company and three of its executives to plead guilty in federal court to criminal charges of misleading the public about OxyContin’s addiction risks between 1995 and 2001, and to pay $634.5 million in government penalties and costs to settle civil litigation. (Jamerson, 5/8)
The Hill: Warren To Donate Money From Family Behind Opioid Giant
An aide for Warren’s campaign confirmed the plan to offset those donations to The Hill, while a spokesperson for the Sackler family said they "would welcome a genuine dialogue" with Warren on the opioid crisis. (Greenwood, 5/8)
