Latest California Healthline Stories
As Treatable As Diabetes? Lawmakers Push New Ways To Stem Opioid Addiction
California lawmakers approved 14 measures to address the opioid crisis, including one that requires health plans to cover medication-based treatments for opioid addiction without requiring pre-authorization. Gov. Jerry Brown has until the end of September to approve or reject the proposals.
States Looking To Tax Opioids Pin Hopes On November Elections
At least 11 states are going to try to tax opioids despite pushback from pharmaceutical companies.
Rudy Giuliani’s Consulting Firm Had Hand In Halting Florida’s Opioid Investigation
Post-9/11, Giuliani Partners helped craft a plan that put a halt to a probe into Purdue’s marketing of OxyContin.
Suicide By Opioid: New Research Suggests Overdoses Should Be Classified As Self-Harm
Researchers combined the number of suicide deaths with those associated with drug overdoses in an effort to better grasp the overlap between these two public health epidemics.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Opioids, EpiPens And Health Funding
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss Senate action on health funding and opioid legislation, the state of the individual insurance market and consternation over expiration dates on EpiPens, the self-injected allergy remedy. Also, could an otter with asthma signal a potential public health crisis?
Rehabilitation Plus Rehab? Jails Dispense Drugs To Treat Inmates’ Addictions
Rather than go cold turkey, inmates increasingly have the option to take medication to help beat addiction to opioids and other substances. But some warn these substitute drugs serve as another crutch — and a costly one at that.
Babies Dependent On Opioids Need Touch, Not Tech
One doctor in Kansas works to make sure every hospital in the state can provide the soft start, ideally with their mothers, that babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome need.
Purdue Pharma’s Sales Pitch Downplayed Risks Of Opioid Addiction
Through a widely circulated brochure and a videotape of testimonials, the maker of OxyContin stressed patients’ right to opioid treatment for pain.
Clinicians Who Learn Of A Patient’s Opioid Death Modestly Cut Back On Prescriptions
A study published Thursday shows that doctors, dentists and other medical providers cut overall opioid dosages by nearly 10 percent after receiving notification of a death from a medical examiner and information on safe prescribing.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.