Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Putting A Dollar Value On An Epidemic: Opioid Crisis Has Cost Economy $95B In 2016 Alone
Modern Healthcare: Economic Burden Of Opioid Epidemic Hit $95 Billion In 2016
The opioid crisis cost the economy $95 billion in 2016, with $21.4 billion spent on treating patients who suffer from opioid abuse, a new analysis from Altarum found. The report sheds light on the economic impact of the crisis that contributed to 53,054 overdose deaths in 2016. ...The vast majority of the economic burden — $43.2 billion — came from losses in the workforce due to deaths from opioids, the analysis found. Another $12.4 billion of the calculation stemmed from productivity losses from surviving opioid addicts. (Castelllucci, 11/16)
WBUR: A New Study Finds Good News About Treating Addiction
A new study finds that about 10 percent of Americans say they've had a drug or alcohol problem at one point in their lives, but overcame it. Researchers asked more than 39,000 people about their experiences with substance abuse. (Becker, 11/16)
NPR: What To Make Of A Head-To-Head Test Of Addiction Treatments
Addiction specialists caution against reading too much into a new study released this week that compares two popular medications for opioid addiction. This much-anticipated research is the largest study so far to directly compare the widely used treatment Suboxone with relative newcomer Vivitrol. Researchers who compared the two drugs found them equally effective once treatment started. But there are fundamental differences in the way treatment begins, which makes these findings difficult to interpret. (Harper, 11/16)
In other news on the crisis —
The Chicago Tribune: Hammond Sues Drug Companies, Distributors For 'Responsibility' In Opioid Crisis
The City of Hammond filed a lawsuit against a host of pharmaceutical firms asking a court to hold them responsible for their role in the opioid crisis. The lawsuit, filed Thursday relying on a federal racketeering statue, alleged the companies that manufactured and distributed pain killers and opioid-based medications helped fuel the abuse of those medications and contributed to a crisis being faced by Hammond and other communities, according to court documents. (Lyons, 11/16)
Arizona Republic: Chandler, Gilbert Police Begin Carrying Opioid Overdose Drug And Putting It To Use
Fire departments with medical first responders have carried the overdose-rescue kits for years, but an increasing number of police departments are joining the fight. They are part of efforts locally and nationally to combat the growing opioid crisis. Overdoses of prescription painkillers and illegal opioids such as heroin killed 790 Arizona residents last year. (MacDonald-Evoy, 11/16)
Star Tribune: Opioid Limits Proposed For Minnesota Prescribers To Fight Painkiller Abuse
In Minnesota’s latest effort to combat the abuse of prescription painkillers, a state task force has set new limits on opioid prescriptions by doctors who participate in the state’s Medicaid program. The rule, adopted Thursday by the state’s Opioid Prescribing Work Group, says that doctors who exceed a new state dosage limit for more than half their patients would receive warnings and training. (Olson, 11/16)
