Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump: Building A Wall Will Curb Opioid Epidemic In U.S.
Stat: Donald Trump’s Plan For Heroin Addiction: Build A Wall — And Offer Some Treatment
Donald Trump said Monday that he believes that building a wall on the Mexican border will help stop the heroin and painkiller epidemic killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. At a town hall meeting Monday in Columbus, Ohio, the Republican presidential nominee stressed the need to stop the flow of drugs into the United States, saying he would “cut off the source, build a wall.” (Scott, 8/1)
The Hill: Group: Address Opioid Crisis By Ending Anonymous Shell Companies
Lawmakers should end the use of anonymous shell companies to make it easier for law enforcement to curb the drug trafficking behind the opioid crisis, a report released Monday argues. “Simply requiring that all companies formed in the U.S. disclose their beneficial owners would enable law enforcement to more effectively follow the money trail and make it harder for criminals to hide their money,” the Fair Share Education Fund, a group that “promotes economic fairness and sustainability,” said in its report. (Jagoda, 8/1)
The Washington Post: After Their Children Died Of Overdoses, These Families Chose To Tell The Truth
As opioid abuse rages and its legacy of overdose deaths continues to climb, more bereaved families are responding by publicly exposing addiction as the demon. Swapping openness for ambiguity in death notices — “died after a long struggle with addiction” replaces “died suddenly at home” — they are challenging the stigma and shame often bound up in substance abuse. Maybe more important, they’re sounding alarms about the far-reaching grasp of addiction. (Fleming, 8/1)
Kaiser Health News: Teaching Future Doctors About Addiction
Jonathan Goodman can recall most of the lectures he's attended at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He can recite detailed instructions given more than a year ago about how to conduct a physical. But at the end of his second year, the 27-year-old M.D.-Ph.D. student could not remember any class dedicated to addiction medicine. Then he recalled skipping class months earlier. Reviewing his syllabus, he realized he had missed the sole lecture dedicated to that topic. "I wasn't tested on it," Goodman said, with a note of surprise. (Jacewicz, 8/2)
