Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The Politics Of Purdue Pharma Settlement: Dems Want To Gamble For Larger Amount, GOP Favors Quick Resolution
Politico: Democrats Favor Righteous Rage, GOP The Safer Bet In Purdue Opioids Settlement
Last year, 49 states and thousands of cities, counties and territories joined in massive litigation designed to punish the drug industry for its role in the opioid crisis. But now that one of the companies, Oxycontin-maker Purdue, has put as much as $12 billion on the table as part of a bankruptcy settlement, Democrats and Republicans are fighting over the proper strategy. (Karlin, 9/18)
The Washington Post: Purdue Pharma’s Bankruptcy Plan Includes Special Protection For The Sackler Family Fortune
In 2008, as Purdue Pharma was searching for a new chief executive, Richard Sackler received a memo from an adviser. “In the event that a favorable [recapitalization] deal cannot be structured during 2008, the most certain way for the owners to diversify their risk is to distribute more free cash flow to themselves,” F. Peter Boer, a member of Purdue’s board of directors told Sackler, a prominent member of the wealthy family that owns the company. (Merle and Bernstein, 9/18)
Los Angeles Times: Who's To Blame For The Nation's Opioid Crisis? Massive Trial May Answer That Question
For the families of the roughly 400,000 Americans who have died of opioid drug overdoses since 1999, a legal drama scheduled to unfold in an Ohio courtroom next month may feel like a true shot at justice. After downplaying the risks of dangerous and highly addictive prescription narcotics, and of profiting from their spiraling misuse, the purveyors of prescription painkillers could be forced to reckon with the consequences of their actions. (Healy, 9/18)
Miami Herald: Florida Families Hurt By Purdue Opioids Oppose Settlement
Purdue Pharma is facing thousands of lawsuits from states and municipalities over its role in marketing and aggressively pushing the sale of its opioids. Florida’s tentative agreement was announced Sept. 11 by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. Dodds told the Miami Herald that she feels betrayed by state leaders who are heading toward a settlement without talking to her and others like her. (Conarck, 9/18)
In other news on the opioid crisis —
The Star Tribune: New Minnesota Opioid Council Goes To Work
Minnesota took a major step in a landmark push to combat opioid addiction Wednesday, assembling an independent panel of experts, advocates and lawmakers to allocate tens of millions of dollars in new funding to combat the crisis. The Opioid Epidemic Response Advisory Council, formally appointed Wednesday, will meet for the first time next week. The 19 voting members will spend the coming months making long-awaited recommendations about spending money earmarked for overdose prevention, addiction recovery, law enforcement and other services related to the epidemic. (Van Oot, 9/18)
Kaiser Health News: Doctors And Nurses With Addictions Often Denied A Crucial Recovery Option
Dr. Wesley Boyd, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard, has spent years working with state programs that help doctors, nurses and other health care workers who have become addicted to opioids get back on their feet professionally. He supports these non-disciplinary programs, in which doctors and nurses enroll for a number of years and are closely monitored by addiction specialists and state authorities as they seek to maintain or restore their medical licenses. (Yasinski, 9/19)
Pioneer Press: Opioid Task Force Finalized; Group To Determine How To Spend $20M To Respond To Crisis
The 19 members of an Opioid Advisory Council were finalized Wednesday ahead of the groups first meeting next week to begin to address the state’s opioid addiction crisis. The council will decide the best ways to spend an estimated $20 million a year raised from new licensing fees on drug makers and distributors. The fee and council were created by lawmakers during the legislative session that ended in May. Eleven of the 19 voting members of the council were appointed by Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead. The other eight members are appointed by state statute. (Magan, 9/18)
