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OPIOID EPIDEMIC AFFECTS COMBAT VETERANS MORE THAN CIVILIANS: Veterans returning from Afghan and Iraqi combat zones following the 9/11 terror attacks felt the brunt of the opioid epidemic as they acclimatized to civilian life, according to a new study from health economists.
Researchers from the University of Connecticut, University of Georgia, and San Diego State University reported in a study distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research that combat veterans deployed as part of the global war on terror have an opioid abuse rate about seven times higher than civilians.
In other words, the opioid crisis that has immiserated parts of the United States in recent years, costing 47,000 lives in 2017 alone, is far more acute still for veterans of the war on terror. About 46 Americans die every day of an opioid overdose, and patients in the Veterans Health Administration are almost twice as likely to die of opioid-related overdoses, writes healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison.
The grim numbers are attributable in part to treating chronic pain due to injuries in combat with opiates. Injuries sustained in combat range from shrapnel wounds and broken bones to spinal cord injuries, more often than not requiring painkillers as part of treatment and recovery.
The authors of the study agree that “lax monitoring of opioid prescriptions by Veterans Health Administration providers” placed veterans at “substantial risk” for opioid abuse and fatal overdoses. They added that “next to nothing” is known for sure about how U.S. policies in the global war on terrorism directly affected veterans’ susceptibility to opioid addiction.
The study’s authors write that post-traumatic stress disorder, which affects nearly one-fifth of active-duty service members, creates an increased risk of veterans abusing prescription painkillers, heroin, and synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, as part of their efforts to cope with psychological pain.
Read more from Cassidy’s latest magazine piece.
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
HHS REDISTRIBUTES TITLE X DOLLARS: The Department of Health and Human Services has redistributed $33.6 million in family planning grants after some facilities, including Planned Parenthood, turned down the money. The Office of Population Affairs said Monday that the grants would go to 50 other facilities that are already receiving grants, which will bolster their funding.
The fight over Title X grants is still being litigated as clinics have decided not to comply with Trump administration rules that say they cannot directly refer to abortions. The grants are going out for the next six months as the court battle continues.
UTAH SUBMITS BACKUP PLAN TO MEDICAID PARTIAL EXPANSION: Utah officials have sent their backup plan to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which involves fully expanding Medicaid under Obamacare but with a work requirement. The Trump administration turned down the initial state plan to do a partial Medicaid expansion this year.
TRUMP SIGNS AUTISM BILL INTO LAW: The president signed the bipartisan Autism CARES Act into law Monday, which will allow $1.8 billion over five years to fund research, detection at a young age, and treatment. “We support research for Americans with Autism and their families,” President Trump tweeted Monday. “You are not forgotten, we are fighting for you!”
CMS INVITES STATES TO APPLY FOR WELLNESS PILOT PROGRAM: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will allow states to add wellness programs to individual market plans. Under the initiative, up to 10 states will be able to apply for the program, and they will have to show that the wellness program won’t lead to coverage losses or increased costs to the federal government.
Wellness programs have a spotty track record of success: There’s little evidence that the programs help people get healthier. Studies have shown they instead tend to reinforce healthy behavior among people who don’t smoke and are already eating healthy and working out. Still, a lot of employers set up the program as a way to get healthier workers and therefore lower premiums.
THE FDA AND DEA CRACK DOWN ON WEBSITES SELLING ILLEGAL OPIOIDS: The Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration have issued formal warnings to four networks running 10 websites for illegally marketing and selling opioids online. “As the FDA works to forcefully tackle the opioid crisis on all fronts, we cannot allow rogue online pharmacies to continue to fuel the crisis by illegally offering opioids for sale and circumventing the important safeguards that have been put in place for opioids to help protect the public health,” Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless said Monday.
The FDA said the sites did not register with the DEA as online pharmacies despite knowingly marketing controlled substances, violating the Controlled Substances Act. Each company behind the sites has 15 days to explain to the FDA how they will address their violations or face law enforcement action.
BIG CHAIN PHARMACIES PULL HEARTBURN MEDICINE AMID CARCINOGEN SCARE: CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid have pulled Zantac and generic versions of the heartburn drug from shelves after the FDA warned on Sept. 13 that it found low levels of a carcinogen in samples.
FIVE OTHER OPIOID MANUFACTURERS CONSIDER JOINING PURDUE IN BANKRUPTCY FILING AMID OVER 2,000 LAWSUITS: Five other pharma companies are considering joining Purdue Pharma’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, according to the Wall Street Journal, as they collectively face over 2,500 lawsuits for their roles in the opioid crisis, and may seek a global settlement. If Endo International, Johnson & Johnson, Teva, Allergan, and Mallinckrodt successfully join Purdue in a settlement with state attorneys general, they would also contribute to the public trust established as part of the settlement that would help pay for opioid crisis recovery efforts, including implementing addiction prevention and treatment measures.
DUIs ASSOCIATED WITH GUN VIOLENCE: STUDY: DUI convictions are associated with higher risks of firearm-related violence among legal gun purchasers, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis Violence Prevention Program team. The California legislature is considering a bill to restrict sales and ownership of firearms to people with two or more DUIs for 10 years after conviction, which passed in the state senate in May.
CHRIS COLLINS RESIGNS AHEAD OF GUILTY PLEA TO INSIDER TRADING IN AUSTRALIAN PHARMA COMPANY: Republican Chris Collins resigned his House seat Monday and will plead guilty Tuesday to insider trading charges, having allegedly tipped his son off to major stock losses in Australian biopharma company Innate Immunotherapeutics. As a member of the company’s board, Collins managed to avoid more than $760,000 in company losses for himself, his son Cameron, and co-defendant Stephen Zarsky, Cameron Collins’ fiancée’s father. Congressman Collins was arrested in 2018 along with his son and Zarsky, and had previously called the charges “meritless.”
MEASLES CASES INCREASE BY TWO: The number of confirmed measles cases increased by just two to reach 1,243 as of Sep. 26, a sign that the outbreak has slowed.
The Rundown
Los Angeles Times The FDA tried to ban flavors years before the vaping outbreak. Top Obama officials rejected the plan
The Wall Street Journal The rare Good Samaritans who donated organs twice
The Baltimore Sun Baltimore County says Monsanto contaminated its water. A lawsuit could make the company pay for cleanup.
AL.com and ProPublica These sheriffs release sick inmates to avoid paying their hospital bills
The Columbus Dispatch State of Ohio called hypocritical for allegations in opioid lawsuits
Calendar
TUESDAY | Oct. 1
Congress in recess.
THURSDAY | Oct. 3
9:30 a.m. Kennedy-King College in Chicago, Illinois. House Energy and Commerce Committee field hearing on “The Public Health Threat of Gun Violence.” Details.
President Trump to sign executive order on Medicare.
