Opioids

CMS on Thursday (Sept. 20) told assisters working to help people get coverage through healthcare.gov that certain victims of Hurricane Florence may qualify for an exceptional circumstance special enrollment (SEP) period that allows them additional time to enroll, and they may be eligible for other SEPs due to relocating outside of their region or other reasons.

FDA for the first time has applied its opioid safety protocols to immediate-release (IR) opioids intended for use in an outpatient setting and is requiring that training be made available to nurses and pharmacists -- not just prescribers -- who are involved managing patients with pain, the agency announced Tuesday (Sept. 18).

Following months of legislative debate involving myriad committees, the Senate on Monday (Sept. 17) passed an extensive package of opioid legislation by a vote of 99-1 but a new version privately hammered out by senators from both parties will be taken to conference with the House, a Senate aide told Inside Health Policy.

Major health care and drug industry stakeholders are concerned the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA's) proposal to cut manufacturing quotas for certain opioids by 10 percent could exacerbate drug shortages and have a negative effect on patients with a legitimate need for opioids.

In a study of more than 1,600 people injured in traffic accidents, researchers discovered that people with a certain variant of the stress-controlling gene FKBP5 were more likely to develop chronic pain than those with other variants -- a finding that could help pinpoint new non-addictive strategies for preventing or controlling chronic pain, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins wrote in an NIH Directors Blog post on Tuesday (Sept. 4).

Senate Republicans have cleared the Senate opioid package and are now awaiting for Democrats to clear it on their side, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said at a press conference Tuesday (Aug. 28).

FDA has contracted the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to conduct a consensus study and issue a report on what evidence is needed to ensure clinical practice guidelines for opioid prescribing for acute pain are sufficient and how to generate said evidence, agency head Scott Gottlieb announced Wednesday (Aug. 22).

President Donald Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to bring a federal lawsuit against opioid makers and distributors rather than just joining state suits, and to explore ways to stop opioids from coming in from China and Mexico, according to a White House press pool report from Thursday (Aug. 16).

A veterinary pain management expert is concerned about potential lack of access to opioids in the veterinary medicine space that could be caused by attempts to curb the opioid epidemic.