Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
U.S. Government Argues It Is Entitled To Portion Of Oklahoma's $270M Opioid Settlement
The U.S. government wants a portion of Oklahoma's $270 million settlement with Purdue Pharma that stemmed from the state's ongoing lawsuit against opioid makers. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wrote to the head of Oklahoma's Medicaid agency that it has determined the federal government is entitled to part of Oklahoma's proceeds. (6/27)
In a June 12 letter to an Oklahoma Medicaid official, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it 鈥渋s aware the state reached the aforementioned $270 million .鈥.鈥. settlement with the Purdue defendants鈥 and 鈥渢he federal government is entitled to a portion of that amount.鈥 The settlement stemmed from Oklahoma鈥檚 2017 lawsuit against three major pharmaceutical companies 鈥 Purdue, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Johnson & Johnson 鈥 that has become a closely watched first test of whether states and cities can force the drug industry to pay for the damage of the opioid epidemic. (Bernstein, 6/27)
Jose Garcia carried a drawstring backpack full of used syringes as he walked into the converted shipping container that serves as the base for Florida鈥檚 only hypodermic needle exchange program. The 57-year-old carefully counted as he dropped 115 syringes one-by-one into a locked biohazard bin brimming with hundreds of other used needles. (Rua, 6/27)
There's a green van parked on the edge of downtown Miami on a corner shadowed by overpasses. The van is a mobile health clinic and syringe exchange where people who inject drugs like heroin and fentanyl can swap dirty needles for fresh ones. One of the clinic's regular visitors, a man with heavy black arrows tattooed on his arms, waits on the sidewalk to get clean needles. "I'm Arrow," he says, introducing himself. "Pleasure." (Mack, 6/27)
A court official has refused to pause pretrial proceedings in wrongful-death lawsuits against a doctor charged with 25 counts of murder and the Ohio hospital system where he worked. William Husel is accused of ordering excessive painkiller doses given to dozens of patients in the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System who later died. (6/27)
