Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Federal Prosecutors Aim To Sentence Convicted Insys Founder To 15 Years In Prison Over Role In Opioid Epidemic
Stat: Prosecutors Seek A 15-Year Jail Sentence For Former Insys CEO
For his role in fomenting the opioid crisis, federal officials want to sentence Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor to 15 years in prison. His lawyers, however, argue the former high-flying executive should be locked away for just one year and a day, then confined to his home and perform community service. The contrasting views toward his fate were explained in detail in sentencing documents filed this week in federal court, where Kapoor and several other former Insys executives earlier this year were convicted of wire and mail fraud in connection with a scheme to illegally boost prescriptions for the Subsys painkiller, which contains fentanyl, a powerful and addictive opioid. (Silverman, 12/20)
New Hampshire Union Leader: Mom Sues Recovery Center Where Daughter Died Of Overdose
The last time Nicole Olmstead saw her daughter Rachel, they ate grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup together, and then went for a walk around Manchester. ...Two days later, Rachel Ribecca was found dead from an accidental fentanyl overdose, not at home or on the street, but in a residential drug treatment facility in Canterbury. “She was only there less than a day,” Olmstead said. Rachel had just turned 21. Olmstead has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Granite Recovery Centers (GRC), alleging that negligent supervision, hiring and training at its New Freedom Academy treatment center caused her daughter’s death. (Wickham, 12/22)
The Associated Press: Nurses Defend Ohio Doctor Charged In Deaths At Hospital
Ten former colleagues of an Ohio hospital doctor who pleaded not guilty to murder in 25 patients' deaths are coming to his defense in a new lawsuit. The action was brought Thursday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court by nine nurses and a pharmacist once employed by Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus, NBC News reported. In it, the former employees argue that the hospital wrongfully terminated and defamed Dr. William Husel. (12/20)
