Profiteering from the opioid crisis (USA Today)

Wednesday May 16th, 2018

Almost like magic, the drug naloxone can bring victims of opioid overdoses back from the brink of death. With more than 115 people dying each day from opioid overdoses across the country, the drug could save thousands of lives each year.

Except for one problem.

The prices of naloxone set by drug makers have skyrocketed, putting it beyond the reach of some police, first responders, community groups, and families and friends of overdose victims.

Consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen and Baltimore's health commissioner, Leana Wen, wrote to the White House asking the administration to use existing laws to rein in the price of naloxone, adding that high prices are forcing her to "ration treatment, constantly stretching supplies that could be distributed in a week across months."

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When I’ve asked experts about these approaches, it’s not that any of them are bad. It’s that they fall short. For instance, Leana Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore (and soon-to-be president of Planned Parenthood), said that the Support for Patients and Communities Act “is simply tinkering around the edges.”

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