Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First-Of-Its-Kind Lawsuit Claims Pharma's Role In Opioid Crisis Led To Higher Premiums For Everyone
The Wall Street Journal: New Front On Opioid Litigation: Suits Over Rising Premiums
The opioid epidemic has unfairly increased health insurance costs across the board, not just for those suffering from addiction, plaintiffs allege in five proposed class-action lawsuits filed Wednesday. The suits, brought on behalf of people and businesses who have paid for health insurance in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York since 1996, represent a new front in litigation seeking to hold corporations accountable for the opioid crisis. (Randazzo, 5/2)
Bloomberg: Opioid Makers Sued For Premium Hikes In First-Of-Kind Cases
The suits open another front in the burgeoning litigation against drugmakers including Purdue Pharma Inc. and the Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit of Johnson & Johnson and distributors such as McKesson Corp. and Cardinal Health Inc. The suits, which seek unspecified damages, seek to represent people who bought health insurance policies in those states since 1996. "All of the defendants in this action share responsibility for creating, sustaining and prolonging the opioid epidemic" in pursuit of corporate revenue, lead plaintiff Edward Grace alleges in a complaint filed Wednesday in Boston. (Harris and Hurtado, 5/2)
CQ: Experts Weigh Merits Of House And Senate Opioid Legislation
Addiction experts agree that tackling the opioid epidemic will require a multi-pronged approach. But as Congress advances dozens of proposals that would help combat the issue, identifying which bills are likely to create the biggest dent in the problem gets a little murkier. Last week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee as well as the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee both marked up legislation intended to address the opioid epidemic. The House subcommittee approved 56 opioid bills and one unrelated bill. The Senate HELP committee’s sole bill (S 2680) comprises more than 40 different proposals. (Raman, 5/2)
And in other news on the crisis —
Minnesota Public Radio: 'What Do We Do Now?' Many Struggle To Find Alternatives In Shift Away From Opioids
As the opioid epidemic continues to claim tens of thousands of lives each year, prescribers are adopting new guidelines to restrict the use of opioids for chronic pain. And there are worries that there aren't enough pain rehabilitation programs to treat all these additional patients with treatment that can be both costly and time-consuming. (Collins, 5/3)
Health News Florida: Delays In Issuing Licenses For New Methadone Clinics Hurting Rural Communities
The state’s invalidated process for licensing new methadone clinics is delaying help for opioid addicts in rural communities. Many in those communities have to drive an hour or more to reach methadone clinics in more urban areas, said John Essenburg, vice president of medication assistance at Operation PAR, which runs several clinics in west Florida from Lee to Hernando counties. (Ochoa, 5/2)
Columbus Dispatch: Health-Insurance Customers Latest To Sue Cardinal Health, Others Over Opioid Crisis
Proposed class-action lawsuits filed Wednesday in five states allege that Cardinal, distributors McKesson and AmerisourceBergen, and several drugmakers are partially to blame for increased health-insurance premiums over the past two decades related to the opioid crisis. (Matzer Rose, 5/2)
Columbus Dispatch: State To Enforce 'Safety Checkpoints' On Prescription Opioid Use
Gov. John Kasich and leaders of state health-care profession licensing boards Wednesday announced a series of “common-sense” thresholds of opioid use that will trigger increased monitoring to ensure patients are receiving appropriate, non-dangerous doses. ...Daily dosages of prescription opioid use, depending on the level, will require prescribers to re-evaluate underlying conditions causing pain, look for signs of prescription misuse and consult pain-care specialists. (Ludlow, 5/2)
WBUR: Latinos Are Hit Especially Hard By The Opioid Crisis In Mass. But Why?
Near-real-time data on the opioid epidemic in Massachusetts, produced by the Baker administration, shows the overdose death rate for Latinos has doubled in three years, growing at twice the rate of any other racial group. These numbers suggest the opioid crisis is hitting Latinos especially hard in Massachusetts. State officials say they don't know why. (Bebinger, 5/3)
