Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
2 Ohio Counties Push Judge To Allow Opioid Case To Go Forward Despite Attorney General's Request For Delay
Two Ohio counties have asked a court to deny their state attorney general’s request to delay a major trial over the toll of opioids. In their filing Wednesday with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Cuyahoga and Summit counties argued the state doesn’t have a say in the matter because it’s not part of the federal case set for trial Oct. 21 in Cleveland. (Mulvihill, 10/3)
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma should be prohibited from giving $38 million in employee payouts as it goes through bankruptcy, attorneys general from 24 states said in a court filing Thursday. Purdue has said it needs to make bonus payments to keep employees and maintain operations at a time of high turnover, which also is requiring the company to provide severance packages for employees heading to the exits. (10/3)
Two dozen drug companies, distributors, retail pharmacies and others blamed for the opioid crisis gripping the nation may follow Purdue Pharma’s lead and try to settle claims before an Oct. 21 trial in a federal court in Cleveland. Dozens of Connecticut cities and towns that have sued these defendants could benefit from a rash of settlements. And although the state has not sued them, it also hopes to gain. (Radelat, 10/3)
Acknowledging a worsening opioid epidemic taking hold in the city, Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s administration is set Friday to launch Mass and Cass 2.0, a plan that would double-down on efforts to remove needles from city streets, and pair police officers with additional outreach workers, putting more “boots on the ground” to ease tensions in a neighborhood hardest hit by drug addiction.In a briefing with reporters, city officials said the plan will boost resources for an array of services in the area around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, where a close concentration of treatment providers has oversaturated the neighborhood with drug addicts seeking services and drug dealers coming to prey on them. (Valencia, 10/4)
One case involved pharmacists and clinic employees who conspired to illegally distribute the opioid drugs that have killed millions, prosecutors say. In another, the owner of a mental health clinic stole doctors’ identities to rip off more than $1 million from Medicaid. (Sullivan, 10/3)
