By Nicolas Terry This episode was recorded at our recent conference entitled Getting Real About Health Care for All. An outstanding panel at the conference was asked the question, “Can We Make Health Care Inclusive?” To answer that question we welcomed Melissa Keyes, Heather Walter-McCabe, Stacey Tovino, and Ruqaiijah Yearby. They approached the question from…
By Daniel Aaron As the opioid litigation continues over the shadow of one of our nation’s most pressing public health crises, some criticism has been levied at private lawyers representing the cities, counties, states, and individuals harmed by the crisis. For example, see the following tweet: Let’s work out tax and healthcare financing policy county…
By Daniel Aaron On October 21, two Ohio counties are slated to present their opioid claims in a federal trial. However, last week, 13 states and the District of Columbia signed onto a brief requesting that the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals stay the upcoming trials. Their reasoning? States should control lawsuits for harms within…
By Scott Burris Federal District Judge Gerald McHugh of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled today that the operation of a safe injection site to prevent overdose, HIV, and other harms associated with drug injection would not violate the federal Controlled Substances Act. The ruling came in an action for declaratory and injunctive relief brought…
By Daniel Aaron People following the opioid lawsuits might have noticed some strange headlines as of late. Virtually every state’s attorney general (AG) is suing Purdue Pharmaceuticals, maker of the blockbuster drug OxyContin. Purdue filed for bankruptcy and is hoping to settle for “$10 billion.” However, the deal only includes $4.4 billion in cash, which…
By Emily Beukema, Aila Hoss, and Nicolas Terry In November 2014, Scott County, Indiana was the site of a now infamous HIV outbreak linked to intravenous drug use. Syringe service programs (SSP) would not only have curbed that outbreak but also could have prevented it from occurring in the first place. Later analysis found that…
The Oklahoma opioid verdict was handed down on August 26 and, of course, there’s only one person to discuss it with, Jennifer OIiva. Professor Oliva is on the faculty at at Seton Hall Law where she specializes in health, FDA, and evidence law. An honors graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Professor Oliva was a…
There is already enough harm from this tragedy, neither the government or media should be adding to it.
By Stephen Wood As a nurse practitioner in a busy suburban emergency department, pain is my job. Pain is one of the most common reasons people come to an emergency department (ED). It could be abdominal pain, chest pain, back pain or even emotional pain, including depression or suicidal ideations. Pain is a driver for…
By J. Alexander Short Pennsylvania is the latest state to enact legislation in reaction to the growing impact the opioid epidemic has on infants. Governor Tom Wolf signed H.B. 1232 in June, effectively requiring hospital officials to notify child protective services when children are born affected by the mother’s substance abuse or affected by withdrawal…
