Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HHS Moves To Make Permanent Pandemic-Driven Opioid Treatment Options
Stat: Addiction Treatment Would Stay Easier To Get Under New Rule
Addiction treatment got easier during the Covid-19 pandemic — and the Biden administration wants to keep it that way. Federal regulators on Tuesday announced a proposal to take the emergency policies enacted in 2020, in response to the emerging pandemic, and make them permanent. (Facher, 12/13)
Axios: Biden Admin Extends Pandemic-Era Flexibilities On Opioid Use Treatments
The Biden administration is moving to make permanent the pandemic rules that allowed take-home drugs to help fight opioid addiction. The proposed rule from HHS would make it easier for patients with opioid use disorder to access drugs like methadone for home use and for providers to prescribe them via telehealth for patients with opioid use disorder. (Moreno and Reed, 12/14)
More on the opioid epidemic —
Health News Florida: Medical Examiners: Fentanyl Is Florida's Most Lethal Drug Among All Ages And Races
A Florida medical examiners report released this week says 6,000 residents died of fentanyl overdoses in 2021, making it the most lethal drug across all ages and racial demographics. (12/13)
San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Supervisors Challenge Mayor Breed Over Supervised Drug Use Sites
Amid an ongoing drug crisis largely driven by the powerful opioid fentanyl, a majority of San Francisco supervisors back a plan to set aside millions of dollars to open “wellness” hubs where people can use drugs under the supervision of staff trained to reverse overdoses. Supervised sites are currently illegal under federal law, although New York City has pushed forward to open two sites. (Moench and Morris, 12/13)
The Washington Post: Inside The Daunting Hunt For The Ingredients Of Fentanyl And Meth
Griselda Martínez lost her freedom in a hail of bullets one warm July night. Gunmen on two motorcycles sped up to the mayor’s SUV, firing 36 times, as it crawled through traffic in this Pacific coastal city. Martínez was grazed by a bullet but survived. Today she lives at Manzanillo’s city hall, protected by 15 bodyguards. Her husband drops off groceries for her to cook in a kitchenette. She rarely sees her children or 4-year-old granddaughter. “Really, I’m a hostage,” said the mayor. “I have no personal life.” (Sheridan, Herscowitz and Chaoul, 12/13)
The Washington Post: In Tijuana, Mexico’s New Fentanyl Capital, Violence And Drugs Surge
Three worlds overlap in Mexico’s new fentanyl capital, where violence and synthetic drugs are bound dangerously together. Addicts, journalists and police navigate a city in disarray. (Sieff, Georges, O'Connor and Tenjarla, 12/14)
