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In one of President Obama’s last major health care initiatives, the administration is stepping up enforcement of laws that require equal insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses, a move officials say will help combat an opioid overdose epidemic. A White House task force on Oct. 27 said insurers needed to understand that coverage for the treatment of drug addiction must be comparable to that for other conditions like depression, schizophrenia, cancer and heart disease. (Pear, 11/7)

Deaths from opioid overdoses continue to surge in Massachusetts, as an influx of illegal fentanyl outpaces the decline in the use of heroin and prescription drugs, according to the state’s latest data. The quarterly report on overdoses from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, released Monday, shows the same deadly trends that have alarmed policy makers for several years persisted from July through September. (Freyer, 11/7)

Fentanyl, an opioid 50 times more potent than heroin, is present in an increasing number of overdose deaths across Massachusetts. It appears be the reason why more men and women are dying even though heroin use and prescriptions for opioid pain medications are down. (Bebinger, 11/7)

New legislation and guidelines aim to reduce and track the opioid market, but the availability of illegal alternatives, insufficient treatment centers and poor prescribing habits threaten to perpetuate the crisis of opioid abuse. (Schroeder, 11/7)

State health officials are warning first responders, friends and family members using the generic nasal mist version of naloxone, the opioid overdose reversing drug, that a piece in the kit might be faulty. Naloxone, if used properly, can rapidly reverse an overdose of opioids, including heroin, fentanyl and other prescription painkillers in the same drug family. (Zeltner, 11/7)

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration wants an appeals court to overturn a judge's ruling that requires federal agents to get a search warrant to access information in an Oregon database that tracks doctors and the narcotics they prescribe to patients. The federal drug agency's "administrative subpoenas" are valid and sufficient to get the information, said Samantha Lee Chaifetz, a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice. The subpoenas don't require probable cause or a court order ahead of time. (Bernstein, 11/7)