Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Is A Heart Ever Not Worth Fixing? Doctors Grapple With Treating Patients Who Get Bacteria From Injecting Opioids
The New York Times: Injecting Drugs Can Ruin A Heart. How Many Second Chances Should A User Get?
Jerika Whitefield’s memories of the infection that almost killed her are muddled, except for a few. Her young children peering at her in the hospital bed. Her stepfather wrapping her limp arms around the baby. Her whispered appeal to a skeptical nurse: “Please don’t let me die. I promise, I won’t ever do it again.” Ms. Whitefield, 28, had developed endocarditis, an infection of the heart valves caused by bacteria that entered her blood when she injected methamphetamine one morning in 2016. Doctors saved her life with open-heart surgery, but before operating, they gave her a jolting warning: If she continued shooting up and got reinfected, they would not operate again. (Goodnough, 4/29)
The Associated Press: Drugmakers Push Back Against Lawmakers' Calls To Tax Opioids
Facing a rising death toll from drug overdoses, state lawmakers across the country are testing a strategy to boost treatment for opioid addicts: Force drug manufacturers and their distributors to pay for it. Bills introduced in at least 15 states would impose taxes or fees on prescription painkillers. Several of the measures have bipartisan support and would funnel millions of dollars toward treatment and prevention programs. In Montana, state Sen. Roger Webb, a Republican, sees the approach as a way to hold drugmakers accountable for an overdose epidemic that in 2016 claimed 42,000 lives in the U.S., a record. (Mulvihill and Potter, 4/28)
Stateline: In Rural Areas Hit Hard By Opioids, A New Source Of Hope
Six months after President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency, some health officials say the federal government has not provided enough new money to combat it. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture this month announced it will offer help to some communities using the resources it already has.The agency this year says it will dedicate at least $20 million of a $49 million rural telehealth and distance learning fund for projects related to opioid addiction. It also has committed to spending $5 million of a $30 million grant program that pays for buildings and equipment in rural areas for projects related to opioids. (Fifield, 4/30)
And in other news —
The Baltimore Sun: New Baltimore Initiative Hopes To More Closely Involve Hospitals In Fight Against Opioid Epidemic
Baltimore officials will announce an initiative on Monday meant to give the city’s 11 hospitals incentive to play a bigger role in ending the opioid epidemic. The plan calls for implementing best practices for hospitals to use when they are faced with patients who overdose or have problems with opioid use. The city will publicly recognize hospitals that follow these guidelines. (McDaniels, 4/29)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Life-Saving Overdose Antidote Narcan Should Be Available Across Northeast Ohio, But It's Not
A Plain Dealer review of 275 pharmacies in three Northeast Ohio counties that have signed up with the state's board of pharmacy to have the drug available found that the majority, 70 percent, had the medication in stock when we contacted them during the second week of April. Less than two-thirds (60 percent) both had the drug in stock and the person answering the call in the pharmacy knew that no prescription was required. (Zeltner, 4/29)
