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TRUMP TO GET NEW SANCTION POWERS IN FIGHT AGAINST OPIOIDS: Congress made an 11th hour addition to the defense spending bill to crack down on China over fentanyl, a highly potent opioid.
The addition of the Fentanyl Sanctions Act would let the U.S. impose economic penalties on drug manufacturers, who are mostly in China, that knowingly send synthetic opioids to drug traffickers and criminal operations. It would deny traffickers U.S. visas, prohibit them from doing business with U.S. banks, and direct U.S. officials to publicly identify foreign opioid traffickers.
The addition to the spending bill is key for Congress as the opioid crisis persists. Fentanyl is leading the surge in opioid overdoses observed in recent years, causing nearly 30,000 deaths in 2017. Much of the fentanyl that arrives in the U.S. comes in tiny traces through the mail after Chinese-based pharmaceutical companies divert the drugs to traffickers.
After badgering from President Trump, Chinese officials announced a ban on fentanyl this year, pledged to target all fentanyl shipments bound for the U.S., and to communicate with U.S. law enforcement about seizures. Lawmakers, however, doubted that officials would keep to their pledge after a top official blamed overprescription and an American culture of addiction for the opioid crisis, rather than Chinese chemists shipping fentanyl to the U.S.
“We need to hold Beijing accountable for any lack of progress controlling the fentanyl freely flowing out of their country,” said Vern Buchanan, a Florida Republican who was one of the bill’s lead sponsors in the House.
The last-minute addition followed a push from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and from Republican Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
Last year when Congress passed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, lawmakers said it was only a small step toward reducing the toll of deaths and addiction. The latest change helps them demonstrate they’re still working to alleviate the suffering caused by opioids, even though a more sweeping bill hasn’t made it through this year.
The larger spending bill passed the House Wednesday and is expected to be cleared by the Senate next week.
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.
HEALTH CHIEFS STILL EMPLOYED: Axios reports that Seema Verma and Alex Azar met Wednesday night with White House officials, who told them to find a way to work together. Right around that time, Politico released a deep dive into the crumbling relationship between the two.
BIG DAY ON THE HILL FOR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: The Senate is voting Thursday afternoon to confirm Stephen Hahn to the Food and Drug Administration, and the House is voting on Nancy Pelosi’s Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act.
GOTTLIEB SAYS PRICE CONTROLS IN PELOSI’S BILL WOULD STIFLE INNOVATION IN MEDICINE: Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb wrote in the Wall Street Journal that Pelosi’s bill includes price controls on drug makers that would stall development of life-saving treatments. For instance, Gottlieb said, gene therapies could be the next great medical advancement to save lives, but Pelosi’s bill would stifle research and innovation: “This is how medicine advances. But if investors knew their returns would be capped, they would direct their investments toward safer projects with lesser payoffs.”
HEALTHCARE ENROLLMENT RATES ARE LOWER THAN LAST YEAR, BUT NOT BY MUCH: After week six of open enrollment, new signups are marginally lower this year than they were at this point last year — about 4% — according to Joshua Peck, former chief marketing manager of Healthcare.gov under Barack Obama. While the gap between this year and last seems to be closing, final sign-up totals reported don’t show how many people will be automatically enrolled. Even if it’s unclear how many people were enrolled on Nov. 1, week six data shows that the number of people who have stayed with plans on the exchanges remains high.
FDA SLAMS ADDICTION MEDICATION MANUFACTURER FOR UNDERSELLING SERIOUS HEALTH RISKS: The FDA admonished Alkermes for underselling potentially fatal effects of Vivitrol, a medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. The monthly injection works to curb opioid cravings and prevent relapses, and the company touts it as a breakthrough treatment to end opioid dependence because it blocks opioid receptors in the brain. It isn’t risk-free, though. Vivitrol greatly reduces tolerance to opioids, because, unlike methadone and buprenorphine treatments, it’s not an opioid. The FDA said in between monthly injections, the effects of the medication gradually wane and if in that time between injections a person relapses, even a low dose of the patient’s drug of choice could be fatal.
The FDA said in addition to not disclosing on Vivitrol’s label that an overdose while taking it is definitely possible, Alkermes omitted safety warnings about injection site reactions.
“Vivitrol is being promoted in a way that does not adequately present important risk information in a truthful and non-misleading manner,” said Thomas Abrams, director of the FDA’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion. “This is concerning from a public health perspective because of the potential for fatal opioid overdose in this vulnerable patient population.”
HEALTH IMPROVEMENT ADVOCACY GROUP REPORTS RACIAL DISPARITIES IN CARE: Asian and Pacific Islander patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans were more likely to report lower quality care than white patients, according to advocacy group Better Medicare Alliance. Other minority groups experienced subpar care in different ways. For example, American Indian, Hispanic, and black patients had trouble making appointments and getting care quickly. Patients who took part in the survey said health professionals participating in Medicare Advantage should receive racial competency training and that the healthcare workforce must be more diverse.
The Rundown
Politico Impeachment committee’s rancor forged by decades of abortion battles
Stat It’s a bonanza: With drug pricing bill up for a vote, D.C. news outlets are drowning in advocacy ads
San Francisco Chronicle New online tracking system shows how many SF addiction treatment beds sit empty
The Washington Post A genetic mutation is associated with increased risk of heart failure in black people, study says
The Hill House Democrats to vote on flavored e-cigarettes ban next year
The Associated Press Arkansas judge denies students’ appeal to vaccination policy
Calendar
THURSDAY | Dec. 12
House vote on the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act.
SUNDAY | Dec. 15
Final day of healthcare.gov open enrollment.
