Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Baltimore Combats Heroin Overdose Epidemic With Antidote Outreach And Training
A suspected case of measles. A rabid fox on the loose. A recall of a dye used in tattoos. A drug epidemic that's claiming hundreds of lives. Those are just a few of the problems that Dr. Leana Wen confronts in a typical week as the Baltimore City Health Commissioner. While they all have to be dealt with, it's clear that heroin is among Wen's gravest concerns. Right now, she's focused on stopping overdoses and saving lives. (Cornish, 9/9)
Senate lawmakers on Wednesday set aside a months long partisan battle long enough to override changes Gov. Bruce Rauner made to legislation aimed at reducing heroin abuse, but the truce proved to be short-lived when talks turned to the budget stalemate. Democrat and Republican legislators voted 44-11 to reject Rauner's rewrite of the bill, which eliminated a portion of the wide-ranging measure that would have required the state's Medicaid health care program for the poor to pay for medication and therapy programs to treat addiction. (Garcia and Geiger, 9/9)