Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Opioid Abuse Efforts May Bring Lawmakers Together In Rare Show Of Bipartisanship
In a testy election year likely to see scant collaboration between Republicans and Democrats, there's a glint of hope in Congress for a bipartisan bill aimed at fighting heroin and opioid addiction — a deadly, growing problem that afflicts states both red and blue. Senate and House bills establishing grants to combat abuse, improve treatment and bolster some law enforcement programs are winning support from members of both parties. President Barack Obama used this month's State of Union address to call such legislation one area where lawmakers "might surprise the cynics" and get something done this year. (1/27)
Governors, senators and law-enforcement officials on Wednesday called for stronger efforts to combat heroin and painkiller addiction, saying the problem was overwhelming police, health-care workers and families in every state. At a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, they argued for more federal funding, wider access to substance-abuse treatment and stricter rules for painkiller prescribing to fight the main driver of soaring drug overdose rates. (Whalen, 1/27)
Top Senate Judiciary Committee members signaled interest Wednesday in advancing a bipartisan bill to address heroin and prescription drug abuse that supporters maintain would be the most comprehensive federal legislation to curb opioid addiction to date. But panel members at a hearing on the measure (S 524) remain concerned about what they said was the lack of efforts to address overprescribing by doctors and criticized the way pain management is often tackled in the medical community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has drawn criticism from pharmaceutical and patient advocacy groups over a set of proposed opioid prescribing guidelines, with skeptics arguing that some of the recommendations could hinder patients' access to pain medications. (Zanona, 1/27)
What is being done to fight heroin and prescription drug abuse in hard-hit states like New Hampshire? What can Congress do to help? Lawmakers tackle the issue. (Chang, 1/27)
In other news from Capitol Hill, two committees look at a law involving kick-backs —
Republicans on the Senate Finance and the Ways and Means committees are considering updating federal anti-kickback statutes including the Stark law to make them better fit the move toward alternative payment models. (Mershon, 1/27)
