Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
States That Expanded Medicaid Under Health Law Are Slower To Spend Opioid Grants, Investigation Finds
The Associated Press: AP Analysis: 'Obamacare' Shapes Opioid Grant Spending
An Associated Press analysis of the first wave of emergency money targeting the U.S. opioid crisis finds that states are taking very different approaches to spending it. To a large extent, the differences depend on whether states participated in one of the most divisive issues in recent American politics: the health overhaul known as "Obamacare." (Johnson and Forster, 10/22)
The Associated Press: Coming Clean: Public Embrace For Celeb Addicts Offers Hope
Beneath sparkling chandeliers hanging in the famed Rainbow Room, as a gala crowd dotted with rock stars sat around white-clothed dinner tables, Ringo Starr stood at a podium and described what it felt like to be 30 years sober. With wife Barbara Bach Starkey — herself a recovering alcoholic — at his side, the former Beatle described what it took for him to get help and called for more resources and acceptance for the treatment movement that saved their lives. (Italie, 10/20)
Los Angeles Times: Fentanyl Smuggled From China Is Killing Thousands Of Americans
The Zheng drug trafficking organization was hardly clandestine. The Shanghai-based network sold synthetic narcotics, including deadly fentanyl, on websites posted in 35 languages, from Arabic and English to Icelandic and Uzbek. The Chinese syndicate bragged that its laboratory could “synthesize nearly any” drug and that it churned out 16 tons of illicit chemicals a month. The group was so adept at smuggling, and so brazen in its marketing, that it offered a money-back guarantee to buyers if its goods were seized by U.S. or other customs agents. (Wilber, 10/19)
Politico Pro: Abuse-Resistant Opioids Fail To Make Gains Amid Crisis
The FDA has encouraged making painkillers crush resistant, harder to dissolve and generally more difficult to tamper with. But those efforts are meeting resistance from insurers and physicians, who question whether drugmakers will use an abuse-resistant designation to roll out more expensive products that still can be overused. (Owermohle, 10/19)
Marketplace: How Big Data Can Identify Doctors Who Overprescribe Opioids And Avoid Potential Costs
The opioid crisis has put a spotlight on physician prescribing practices, especially since studies show a quarter of chronic pain patients misuse opioids. One startup in Nashville has become a sort of watchdog for health insurers who spend far more when a patient is abusing opioids. (Farmer, 10/19)
Boston Globe: Baker Gets Praise For Handling Opioid Crisis, But Challenges Remain
Charlie Baker made it clear, as soon as he won election in 2014, that tackling the opioid crisis would be a top priority. He did not delay. A month after taking office as governor, Baker established a working group that by June 2015 came out with 65 recommendations to address opioid addiction. (Freyer, 10/22)
