Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Coming To 'Sesame Street': A Muppet Whose Mother Is Struggling With Addiction
Parents and kids who are fans of 鈥淪esame Street鈥 will now see a new storyline for one the show鈥檚 muppets: one of parental addiction. Videos launched Wednesday feature the muppet Karli, whose mother is struggling with addiction, and show how she copes with the situation with support from Elmo and other friends. (Chakradhar, 10/10)
A small home-improvement company in West Virginia is taking on the nation's opioid giants in a lawsuit blaming the drugmakers for a rise in insurance costs. The handymen at Al Marino Inc. filed the federal class-action suit last week in U.S. District Court against Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and a host of other companies. The case claims the drug businesses created a public health crisis that increased the need for expensive medical treatments, leading to skyrocketing health insurance costs in West Virginia. It seeks unspecified damages. (10/9)
Purdue Pharma LP鈥檚 billionaire owners, the Sackler family, are a step closer to a trial in Massachusetts over their role in the opioid epidemic, after a judge said the state had made credible allegations of misconduct in marketing of the company鈥檚 addictive painkiller, OxyContin. A judge in Boston on Tuesday denied the family鈥檚 request to toss out the state鈥檚 first-of-its-kind lawsuit. The ruling is significant because it means the Sacklers will have to defend their actions in court unless Purdue is able to shield its owners from pending cases through its bankruptcy process, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said. (Larson, 10/9)
The last public residential drug treatment program for Maryland youths has closed, ending access to a variety of long-term treatment that has been used less frequently in recent years. People of all ages with substance use disorders are now more often steered to clinic-based programs near home. And while many treatment experts support the move, shuttering the Catoctin Summit Adolescent Program has raised concerns. (Cohn, 10/9)
An Alaska doctor and nurse practitioner face federal charges of illegally distributing millions of opioid doses to patients that resulted in addiction, overdoses and deaths, officials said. The Alaska U.S. attorney announced Wednesday that 48-year-old Jessica Joyce Spayd and 74-year-old Lavern Davidhizar were arrested and charge separately with providing opioids to patients who did not medically require them. (10/9)
