Gov't Urged to Invoke Authority to Boost OD Antidote Access (AP)
The Trump administration should invoke government authority to slash prices of a life-saving overdose drug or provide funding to expand access amid the coast-to-coast opioid epidemic, Baltimore's health department and a national advocacy group said Thursday.
America is in the throes of its worst-ever drug crisis, yet the generic medication available in other countries by the pennies remains pricy enough in the U.S. that Baltimore's health agency is rationing its naloxone supplies. Other hard-hit U.S. municipalities are also feeling the squeeze as rising overdose rates are fueled by synthetic opioids.
"What's short is our willpower to do something about it," said Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, who issued an innovative blanket prescription for naloxone in 2015.