Funds Included In Spending Bill To Fight ‘Cataclysmic’ Opioid Crisis Not Nearly Enough, Advocates Say
The $4.6 billion allocated is a record amount for the government. But, by comparison, the U.S. is spending more than $7 billion annually on discretionary domestic funding on AIDS, an epidemic with a death toll that peaked in 1995 at 43,000. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has directed federal prisons to use one particular treatment that would benefit a single drugmaker in his plan to battle the crisis, and rural areas are struggling because of a dearth of methadone vans.
The Associated Press:
States: Federal Money For Opioid Crisis A Small Step Forward
The federal government will spend a record $4.6 billion this year to fight the nation's deepening opioid crisis, which killed 42,000 Americans in 2016. But some advocates say the funding included in the spending plan the president signed Friday is not nearly enough to establish the kind of treatment system needed to reverse the crisis. A White House report last fall put the cost to the country of the overdose epidemic at more than $500 billion a year. (Mulvihill, 3/25)
Stat:
Trump Opioid Plan Writes In Favoritism To Vivitrol Over Other Medications
The White House’s national strategy to combat the opioid crisis, unveiled last week, would expand a particular kind of addiction treatment in federal criminal justice settings: a single drug, manufactured by a single company, with mixed views on the evidence regarding its use. Federal prisons should “facilitate naltrexone treatment and access to treatment” to inmates as they transition out of incarceration, according to a fact sheet circulated by the administration. A White House spokesman later confirmed to STAT that the document referred specifically to naltrexone in its injectable form. (Facher, 3/26)
Stateline:
Federal Ban On Methadone Vans Seen As Barrier To Treatment
From California to Vermont, mobile methadone vans have served people with opioid addiction in rural towns and underserved inner-city neighborhoods for nearly three decades. But the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which regulates dispensing of the FDA-approved addiction medicine, has refused to license any new methadone vans since 2007 over concerns about potential diversion of the medication. Now, in an unrelenting opioid epidemic that is killing more than a hundred Americans every day, some state and local addiction agencies are asking the federal government to lift its moratorium as quickly as possible. (Vestal, 3/23)
And in other news on the epidemic —
Pioneer Press:
Penny-Per-Pill Fee To Combat Opioid Crisis Pulled From House Bill
The sponsor of a House bill to boost Minnesota’s fight against opioid abuse has stripped a penny-per-pill fee from the plan in hopes of keeping the legislation alive. State Rep. Dave Baker, a Republican from Wilmar whose son Dan died of a drug overdose, has been a strong advocate of such a fee on prescription opioids to help battle the growing problem of overdoses. (Magan, 3/23)
Pioneer Press:
Opioid Shortages Leave Minnesota Hospitals Looking For Alternatives
Hospitals across Minnesota have been scrambling to cope with a nationwide shortage of injectable opioid painkillers. “The supply is just inconsistent,” said Gina Lemke, pharmacy director at St. Luke’s hospital in Duluth. “We can’t place an order and trust that it’s going to arrive.” Given the effort to cut down on the number of opioids that are prescribed, it may seem ironic that there’s a shortage of some opioids used in an injectable form. But in that setting, opioids still perform a needed function, pharmacists say. (Lundy, 3/23)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Louisiana House To Consider Bill Helping Infants Born Addicted To Opioids
The youngest victims of the opioid epidemic in Louisiana could be helped by a proposal headed for a full vote at the House of Representatives on March 29. Authored by Sen. Walt Leger, HB 658 proposes the creation of a neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) pilot project within the state's Department of Health. Infants born with this condition often experience withdrawal after birth, resulting in side effects such as sweating, trembling, vomiting, seizures and trouble sleeping. The project aims to establish a multi-disciplinary team within the department that will guide best treatment options for babies born in withdrawal from opiates. (Clark, 3/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Federal Funding Boost For Opioid Crisis Not Nearly Enough, Critics Say
The federal government will spend a record $4.6 billion this year to fight the nation’s deepening opioid crisis, which killed 42,000 Americans in 2016. But some advocates say the funding included in the spending plan the president signed Friday is not nearly enough to establish the kind of treatment system needed to reverse the crisis. (Mulvihill, 3/25)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Research, Jobs Among Opioid Crisis Solutions Touted In Ohio
Days after President Donald Trump announced he wanted tougher penalties for drug dealers and stronger border protection, two Trump administration officials announced new federal money for addiction research and job training for people affected by the opioid crisis and those working in mental health and addiction services. Meanwhile, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine touted the benefits of chiropractic care and alternative therapies to manage pain. (Borchardt, 3/23)
