Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: It's Absurd That Our Judicial System Allows 1 Judge To Undo Decades Of FDA Science
The Washington Post: Don’t Listen To The FDA. Listen To A Trump-Appointed Judge Named Matt.
In another thrilling development in this best of all possible worlds, a ruling from a single Trump-appointed judge in Texas might undo the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of one of the two key drugs used in medication-based abortions and render it inaccessible nationwide. (Alexandra Petri, 2/10)
Los Angeles Times: FTC Crackdown On GoodRx Sends A Message That Private Consumer Data Must Be Protected
Since 2017, GoodRx has helped millions of people find deals on prescription drugs via an app and website. But what its customers may not have known is that the Santa Monica-based health company had also been sharing information about their prescriptions and illnesses with third parties such as Google and Facebook for advertising purposes. (2/10)
Dallas Morning News: Time To Treat The Overdose Crisis In Dallas As A Poison Control Problem
In the last five years, there has been a spike in overdoses nationally, and especially among young people. Between 2019 and 2021, fentanyl overdose deaths doubled in the U.S., increasing nearly fourfold among children. Statewide, fentanyl was present in 97% of drug overdoses last year. (Scott Walters, 2/13)
The Washington Post: I Tried Ketamine To Treat My Depression. It Was Terrifying.
My ears perked up in recent months when I began to hear the buzz about ketamine, the anesthetic and hallucinogenic drug that has found a new market as an antidepressant. Numerous credible studies have documented benefits, including that it is fast-acting, with patients sometimes showing improvement within a couple of days. (Steven Petrow, 2/12)
Stat: The X-Waiver For Buprenorphine Prescribing Is Gone
Included in the end-of-year appropriations bill that President Biden signed on December 29, 2022 was the bipartisan Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act of 2023. This act eliminates the so-called X-waiver that physicians had long needed to prescribe buprenorphine, a medication that curbs opioid cravings, reduces drug use, and prevents deaths among people who use opioids. (Beth S. Linas and Benjamin P. Linas, 2/14)
