Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Purdue Pharma, Sacklers Granted Brief Reprieve In Bankruptcy Court As Judges Urges Company And States To Talk
The New York Times: Judge Orders Pause In Opioid Litigation Against Purdue Pharma And Sacklers
Citing mounting costs of litigation that are siphoning funds that could otherwise go to abate the opioid crisis, a bankruptcy judge on Friday ordered a pause in legal action by states against Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sacklers. The ruling was a setback for 25 states that have forcefully opposed a national opioid settlement negotiated last month among the company and the Sacklers and cities, counties and other states that have filed lawsuits against them. To raise money for the settlement, Purdue has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and asked that all litigation against it and the Sacklers be halted. (Walsh, 10/11)
The Wall Street Journal: Bankruptcy Judge Pushes Purdue Into Talks With States Over Sackler Family Legal Shield
A bankruptcy judge in White Plains, N.Y., on Friday granted a brief legal reprieve to the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma LP, shielding them from answering in court for their alleged role in feeding the nationwide opioid crisis. Judge Robert Drain didn’t grant Purdue’s request for a six-month stay of litigation that would bar the pursuit of the Sacklers for allegedly profiting from misleading sales of the opioid OxyContin. He pushed the drugmaker and protesting states to agree to stand down from court fights until Nov. 6, and talk instead. (Brickley, 10/11)
The Washington Post: Judge Grants Sackler Family Request To Halt Civil Lawsuits Against Them
Extending that relief to the Sacklers, who haven’t filed for bankruptcy protection, is “extraordinary” but appropriate in this case, Judge Robert Drain said from the bench. Drain’s ruling stays action for three weeks in state and federal lawsuits against the Sackler family members, who own the company, as well as Purdue Pharma and related companies. During the three-week reprieve, Purdue Pharma agreed to address one of the key concerns — access to more information about the Sacklers’ finances — raised by state attorneys general who objected to including the family in the temporary injunction. (Merle, 10/11)
The Associated Press: Judge Will Halt Lawsuits Against Purdue Pharma, Its Owners
Twenty-five state governments asked the judge to let suits against Sackler family members move ahead. But the judge said that would wipe out the company’s assets. “A trial here will simply be an autopsy,” Drain said. The question of allowing suits to continue is not settled, but it got a boost Friday. Just before the hearing, a committee of unsecured creditors that includes opioid crisis victims said it would support pausing the lawsuits. (Mulvihill, 10/11)
In other news on the opioid crisis —
Boston Globe: An Innovative Program That Helps Civilly Committed Kick Drugs
Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi didn’t go into law enforcement to help people addicted to drugs. But setting those with substance use disorder on a path to recovery has become one of his life’s passions. For the past year, Cocchi has operated an addiction treatment center out of the Hampden County jail for men committed under Section 35, the state law that allows family members, medical professionals, and law enforcement to commit a person to involuntary treatment for up to 90 days. (Braceras, 10/14)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: ’Numbers Off The Charts’: SE Ohio Coroner Accused Of Prescribing 1.5 Million Opioid Pills In Private Practice
In the hills of eastern Ohio, Belmont County faces a troubling paradox. Its coroner, whose job it is to investigate deaths and their causes, is accused of overprescribing painkillers in a county where 72 people have died of accidental opioid overdoses since 2008. As the nation struggles with the opioid addiction crisis, judges and juries are left to decide who will be held responsible. (Caniglia, 10/13)
Health News Florida: Florida Prisons Don’t Track Inmate Overdoses Despite Contraband Problems
Florida’s prison system, the third largest in the nation, has long faced issues with contraband drugs, yet the state agency that grapples with the problems does not track the number of inmates treated for overdoses. Department of Corrections officials say they deem the health and well-being of prisoners a priority and that the system has protocols to provide inmates with "proper medical treatment" when they overdose. (Ceballos, 10/11)
Chicago Tribune: 'We Wanted To Create A Safe Space’: Lake Villa Addiction-Recovery Center Opens Program For LGBTQ Community
The Lake Villa-based Gateway Foundation is opening the Midwest’s first addiction treatment program for those in the LGBTQ community, marking the occasion Friday on National Coming Out Day. The “Out in Recovery” program patients will be immersed in evidence-based practices used to treat substance use, and it will also provide therapeutic support for those working through other behavioral health issues like anxiety, depression, bipolar affective disorder, trauma, and other unique needs of the LGBTQ population, according to a statement from the foundation. (Abderholden, 10/11)
