Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Opioid Trial Of Big-Name Pharmacies Begins In New Mexico
U.S. pharmacy operators Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walmart Inc and Kroger Co on Tuesday faced off against the state of New Mexico in the latest trial over their alleged role in the U.S. opioid epidemic, following recent high-profile losses for pharmacies in other lawsuits. New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, in his opening statement, argued that the pharmacies were supposed to act as a "dam" against a flood of illegitimate opioid prescriptions by refusing to fill prescriptions with "red flags" that signaled abuse. (Pierson, 9/6)
In news from California and Washington state —
A federal judge says part of California’s aid-in-dying law is unconstitutional because it requires physicians, regardless of personal objections, to report a terminally ill patient’s request for life-ending medication. (Egelko, 9/6)
A trio of San Francisco supervisors revealed an ambitious citywide road map Tuesday to tackle drug overdose deaths, addiction and open-air use and dealing, urging a coordinated response that uses millions from opioid lawsuit settlements to address an unprecedented crisis. (Moench, 9/6)
A U.S. federal appeals court on Tuesday unanimously upheld Washington state's ban on conversion therapy for children, rejecting a therapist's claim that it undermined his free speech and targeted him because he is Christian. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Washington's legislature acted rationally and did not violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment by imposing the ban to protect the "physical and psychological well-being" of children. (Stempel, 9/6)
In news from Massachusetts, Maine, and Maryland —
A 20-year-old man has been identified as the third person in Massachusetts to be infected with West Nile virus this year, state public health officials announced on Tuesday. (Fonseca, 9/6)
The Maine Air National Guard’s base of operations at Bangor International Airport sits atop groundwater tainted with high levels of toxic, so-called forever chemicals that seeped into it from decades of the guard using firefighting foam on the property. A report published by the U.S. Air Force last month says there’s a high risk that the contamination from those chemicals, called PFAS, has spread beyond the base property, which could contaminate area water supplies. (Loftus, 9/7)
Frustrations mounted among West Baltimore residents and their City Council representatives Tuesday as an order to boil water due to an E. coli contamination stretched into a second day with few updates from public works officials or Mayor Brandon Scott. (Opilo, Condon and Dance, 9/6)
