Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Oklahoma Attorney General Amps Up Legal War Over Opioid Crisis With New Suit Against 3 Distributors
The Associated Press: Oklahoma Attorney General Sues Distributors Of Opioids
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter on Monday brought a lawsuit against three distributors of opioids after winning a lawsuit against one drug manufacturer and reaching pretrial settlements in other cases. Hunter filed the lawsuit in Cleveland County District Court against Cardinal Health Inc., McKesson Corp. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. (1/13)
The Washington Post: Oklahoma Files Suit Against Three Major Opioid Distributors
Oklahoma State Attorney General Mike Hunter (R) said the three companies — McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen — delivered more than 34 billion doses of narcotics to Oklahoma and the rest of the United States between 2006 and 2012, failing to halt plainly suspicious drug orders because they were making so much money. “Defendants fueled the opioid crisis by supplying massive and patently unreasonable quantities of opioids to communities throughout the United States, including Oklahoma,” attorneys wrote in court papers filed in Cleveland County, the site of the previous court battle. (Bernstein, 1/13)
The Hill: Oklahoma Sues Three Major Opioid Distributors
McKesson told The Hill the lawsuit mischaracterizes the company's "important but limited" role in the drug supply chain. "Any suggestion that McKesson drove demand for opioids in this country reflects a fundamental misunderstanding and mischaracterization of our role as a distributor. We will continue to fight that mischaracterization and defend ourselves in the litigation," the company said. (Weixel, 1/13)
The Oklahoman: Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter Files Lawsuit Against Opioid Distributors
The lawsuit doesn't specify the amount of damages the state is requesting. Hunter said a good benchmark for the state to use in negotiations would be the $215 million that the three companies agreed to pay last October to two Ohio counties with about 1.7 million people. The amount should be adjusted to apply to Oklahoma's population of about 4 million, he indicated. That would put the amount the state is seeking at a little over $500 million. (Ellis, 1/14)
In other news on the opioid crisis —
NH Times Union: There Are Up To 60 Sober Living Houses In Manchester, Fire Chief Says
The city hosts 50 to 60 loosely regulated sober living houses, which provide supportive situations for people battling drug and alcohol addiction, a top city official said. Fire Chief Dan Goonan, long a critic of the lax regulation of such homes, said last week his Fire Prevention Bureau has compiled a list of sober living homes. Residents of some homes claim they are just friends living together in sobriety, the chief said. The list is based on what firefighters discover when they go on calls, sometimes for overdoses, Goonan said. ...“It’s completely unregulated. It’s in some ways a Wild West out there,” said Goonan, who is backing legislation that would reduce fire and safety standards (such as sprinkler systems) on recovery homes if they register with the state. (Hayward, 1/12)
The Associated Press: Shareholders Entitled To Opioid Distributor's Board Records
A Delaware judge has ordered one of the world's largest distributors of opioid painkillers to turn over corporate records to shareholders investigating whether the company engaged in wrongdoing. The judge ruled Monday that shareholders of AmerisourceBergen have demonstrated that they have proper purposes to conduct an inspection of company records and have established their right to inspect "formal board materials." (1/13)
