Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
One More Dangerous Complication Of The Opioid Epidemic: Superbugs
One type of superbug bacteria is increasingly spreading among people who inject drugs, according to a new government report. Users of heroin and other injection drugs were 16 times more likely than other people to develop severe illnesses from MRSA, said the report published Thursday. "Drug use has crept up and now accounts for a substantial proportion of these very serious infections," said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, one of the study's authors. (Stobbe, 6/7)
The White House launched a series of new advertisements Thursday aimed at warning young people about the dangers of opioids, taking another step in the effort to turn the tide against the deadly epidemic. The White House said its first public service campaign would include several partners, including the Ad Council and the Truth Initiative, surrounding four new ads featuring the true stories of young people who have battled addiction. (Thomas, 6/7)
In a novel case that could have national implications, the Washington state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued a county sheriff's office to force it to provide opiate-withdrawal medication to prisoners, rather than requiring them to go cold turkey. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, says the Whatcom County Jail's refusal to provide the medicine violates the Americans with Disability Act, because opioid addiction qualifies as a disability under the law. Prisoners suffering from opioid addiction are as entitled to medication as those with any other condition requiring medical treatment, the lawsuit says. (Johnson, 6/7)
States that are monitoring congressional legislation to curb opioids addiction are also moving forward on their own efforts that could serve as models or be expanded later. Though the opioid epidemic is an overarching problem, states are taking different approaches due to regional differences in policy and the specific problems they face. New Mexico is considering ways to prevent repeat overdoses. Alaska officials are distributing kits with the opioid reversal drug naloxone. West Virginia is relying on data to guide new policies affecting limits on initial opioid prescriptions and clinics' distribution of medication-assisted treatments. (Raman, 6/8)
