Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Scripts Should Be Allowed Across State Lines; SUPPORT Act Must Be Reauthorized
Miami Herald: Trying To Get Medication While Traveling Can Be Hard
Last month, I was invited to visit the Teletón Children’s Rehabilitation Center in San Antonio, Texas, to participate in the Teletón USA solidarity program, which will be broadcast on Dec. 16 on Univision. Everything was going according to plan until I arrived at the hotel and realized I had forgotten the medication my doctor prescribed for me to fall asleep. I suffer from insomnia. (Mario Kreutzberger, 12/8)
Newsweek: Congress Still Has Time To Save Lives From Drug Overdose
After years of working to find solutions and deliver resources to our communities to combat the substance use disorder epidemic, Congress finally made progress in 2018. For the first time, we passed into law a comprehensive, bipartisan legislative package aimed at mitigating the harmful effects of opioids, largely driven by Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family's deceptive and aggressive marketing of OxyContin. In the five years since it was signed into law, the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) Act has been a critical guidebook for health care workers, law enforcement personnel, and policymakers to respond to this crisis on the front lines. (David Trone, Brian Fitzpatrick, Ann McLane Kuster, and Lisa McClain, 12/12)
The New York Times: 48 Million Americans Live With Addiction. Here’s How To Get Them Help That Works
Raina Mcmahan, a 42-year-old recovery coach, spent roughly half her life seeking treatment for her own opioid use disorder. She tried detoxing multiple times at different inpatient facilities, but those programs usually discharged her after a week or two without any follow-up care. (Jeneen Interlandi, 12/13)
Chicago Tribune: The Opioid Epidemic Is Getting Worse. Don’t Reward One Of The Main Culprits
It all started with individuals being hooked on opioids that were prescribed for them, most famously the OxyContin that Purdue recklessly marketed to mostly unwitting physicians. As the Sacklers wrung every penny they could from their company, and prescription opioids became more expensive and harder to obtain, those addicts increasingly fed their habits with illegal street drugs — first heroin and, later, the dangerous synthetic opioid known as fentanyl. (12/11)
