Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Approves Bankruptcy Plan For Opioid-Maker Insys
Insys Therapeutics Inc., the first drugmaker driven to bankruptcy by fallout from the opioid crisis, won court approval of a bankruptcy plan that pays less than a dime for each dollar it owes to the people, cities, states and tribes claiming damage from the drug epidemic. Shareholders of the once-thriving company will be wiped out under the chapter 11 plan approved Thursday by Judge Kevin Gross in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. (Brickley, 1/16)
The experience spurred Hennepin County officials to reassess what they could do as the opioid epidemic continued to claim tens of thousands of lives each year across the country. The county has since implemented a policy explaining how best to treat overdoses. They have also started training 60 county officers and 80 contract security officers on how to administer naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan — a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. (Collins, 1/16)