Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: CRISPR May Have Found New Delivery Method; Doctors Hesitancy With Opioids Harms Patients
Bloomberg: Crispr Breakthroughs: Gene Therapy’s Success Hinges On Delivery
For years, we’ve known that genetic diseases could one day be cured by technologies like Crispr. But there has always been a catch: These technologies can only fix the genome in the parts of the body that they can reach, and right now, their reach is very limited. (Lisa Jarvis, 2/22)
USA Today: Fear Of Opioids Is Causing Patients To Needlessly Suffer Severe Pain
A decade ago, most people thought of Tylenol (acetaminophen) as a medicine for fever, malaise and minor aches and pains. Nobody imagined that it would become the go-to drug for treating moderate, let alone severe, postoperative pain. (Jeffrey A. Singer and Josh Bloom, 2/16)
USA Today: $130,000 A Year For Medicine Is Outrageous. But I Blame The Government, Not Drugmakers
One of my family members, who has multiple sclerosis, takes two prescriptions to treat the illness. Together, the medications cost $130,000 a year. Thankfully, her family's insurance and the MS LifeLines charity cover the majority of the cost. If not for the charity and her insurance, the medication would simply cost too much. (Chris Schlak, 2/21)
Chicago Tribune: Abortion Pill Extremists Are Disingenuous Absolutists
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade last year, freeing states to limit or ban abortion, we knew abortion pills would become a target.What’s the point of a law, after all, that can be circumvented by using a few pills shipped to private homes anywhere in the country after a simple telehealth or online appointment? (2/20)
The Washington Post: Comstock Laws Could Threaten Access To Abortion Pills
The latter-day vice suppressors are trying to use the Comstock Act to make abortion medications, and maybe even all abortions, unavailable — not just in states that prohibit the procedure, but nationwide. (Ruth Marcus, 2/15)
Chicago Tribune: Nation Should Follow Illinois’ Lead And Protect Patients By Banning Health Copay Accumulators
The availability of manufacturer coupons and charitable organizations have traditionally been a way for patients to get access to the care they need at a much lower cost. But that’s changed over the past few years. Increasingly, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, the insurers’ middlemen, are implementing “copay accumulators,” which enable them to avoid counting patient assistance toward their customers’ annual out-of-pocket maximums, rendering coupon cards useless. (Greg Harris, 2/21)
The Washington Post: The FDA Can Save Lives By Making Injectable Naloxone More Accessible
Two panels advising the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Wednesday to recommend making naloxone, an opioid overdose-reversing drug, available over the counter in nasal-spray form. This would be a crucial step toward making this lifesaving drug more accessible. (Leana S. Wen, 2/15)
Stat: Another Pharma Flip-Flop: Claims About The IRA And Small-Molecule Drugs
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes provisions requiring Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for some of the United States’ most costly drugs, marks the first time in decades that the pharmaceutical industry has lost a major policy battle. (David Mitchell, 2/17)
