Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Prince Sought Help From Addiction Specialist The Day Before His Death
Prince Rogers Nelson had an unflinching reputation among those close to him for leading an assiduously clean lifestyle. He ate vegan and preferred to avoid the presence of meat entirely. He was known to eschew alcohol and marijuana, and no one who went on tour with him could indulge either. But Prince appears to have shielded from even some of his closest friends that he had a problem with pain pills, one that grew so acute that his friends sought urgent medical help from Dr. Howard Kornfeld of California, who specializes in treating people addicted to pain medication. ... But he arrived too late. (Eligon, Kovaleski and Coscarelli, 5/5)
In his final weeks, Prince hid signs of trouble from his fans, stonewalling reports of an overdose that required an emergency plane landing and making a brief public appearance to reassure them. But privately, the superstar was in crisis, seeking help from a prominent addiction expert that ultimately came too late. The day before he died, Prince鈥檚 representatives reached out to a prominent California doctor who specializes in treating addiction and set up an initial meeting between the two, the doctor鈥檚 Minneapolis attorney, William Mauzy, said Wednesday. He said the doctor, Howard Kornfeld, couldn鈥檛 leave right away so he sent his son, Andrew, who flew out that night. (Burbach, 5/4)
The U.S. Attorney and the Drug Enforcement Administration in Minnesota are officially joining the investigation into the circumstances of Prince's death, they announced Wednesday. The federal law enforcement agencies issued a statement saying they could "augment" the local Carver County Sheriff's Office investigation with "federal resources and expertise about prescription drug diversion," which may have played a role in Prince's sudden and still officially mysterious death at his Paisley Park compound on April 21 in suburban Minneapolis. (5/4)
The death of Prince has helped fuel a national conversation about opioid painkillers as investigators look into whether a drug overdose killed the pop superstar, whose cause of death hasn鈥檛 been released yet. Prince would hardly be the first famous figure to battle opioid addiction. But it鈥檚 not just a celebrity problem. (Clarridge, 5/4)
