Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Lady Wants To Help Battle Opioid Crisis, But What Those On The Front Line Say They Need Is Money
Melania Trump, a once-reluctant first lady who has lately been ramping up her travels as well as directing her aides to lash out at rivals, allowed the public a glimpse at her nascent platform on Tuesday at a clinic that treats infants born with addiction. Mrs. Trump flew about 400 miles to this western edge of the state. Her visit is a signal that her interests — so far stated broadly as helping children and combating cyberbullying — have narrowed, at least for now, to focus on learning more about the opioid epidemic. (Rogers, 10/10)
Democrats are pressing the Trump administration to move ahead with a stalled rule that would require opioid testing for certain transportation workers. Currently, the Department of Transportation (DOT) only administers a five-panel drug test for safety-sensitive transportation workers, which includes marijuana, cocaine and PCP. (Zanoma, 10/10)
And in news from the states —
New Hampshire babies born to drug-addicted mothers received a leg up Tuesday. The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation announced a new fund created with an anonymous $3 million donation to assist mothers with substance use disorders and their children. Nearly 470 New Hampshire babies were born exposed to drugs last year, compared with 367 in 2014, according to the state’s Division for Children, Youth and Families. Concord Hospital alone recorded 70 substance-exposed births in 2016. (Willingham, 10/10)
Minneapolis authorities say a surge in people being treated for suspected overdoses of the synthetic marijuana drug K2 has spilled into the new week. (Nelson, 10/10)
As Kansas, Missouri and other states try to get a handle on the opioid epidemic killing an estimated 90 Americans every day, they’re confronting a longstanding problem: physicians diverting the drugs for their own use. (Marso, 10/10)
The majority of street drug users say they switched to heroin after prescribed painkillers became too expensive. Now, a handful of doctors and hospital administrators are asking, if an opioid addiction starts with a prescription after surgery or some other hospital-based care, should the hospital be penalized? (Bebinger, 10/10)
