The deadly synthetic opioid has spread across the nation during the pandemic, and the problem is disproportionately affecting Native Americans.
Three years after a government site launched to connect Americans to treatment, finding addiction care is still a struggle.
In California, where overdose deaths are on the rise, physicians say administering anti-addiction medication as a monthly injection holds tremendous potential. So, why aren’t more patients getting it?
The top candidates to lead California’s most populous city have pledged to expand services for homeless people struggling with mental illness and substance use disorders. But they differ on whether the city should control homeless funding or continue a partnership with the county.
The pandemic has shown that loosening the strict regulations on distributing methadone helps people recovering from addiction stay in treatment. But clinics with a financial stake in keeping the status quo don’t want to make permanent changes.
Check out the latest bonus episodes from the award-winning “Where It Hurts” podcast.
Like almost everything else associated with the covid-19 pandemic, partisans are taking sides over whether vaccines should be mandated. Meanwhile, Democrats on Capitol Hill are still struggling to find compromise in their effort to expand health insurance and other social programs. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jen Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews best-selling author Beth Macy about her book “Dopesick,” and the new Hulu miniseries based on it.
Opponents of free needle programs in California are using environmental regulations to shut them down. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will end that strategy.
As the pandemic has raged so has the country’s drug epidemic. California is looking to a controversial solution for certain drug users, but despite its effectiveness, critics have scoffed at the idea calling it unethical or a bribe.
Despite widespread consensus on the importance of addiction treatment in the ER, many hospitals fail to screen for substance use, offer medications to treat opioid use disorder or connect patients to follow-up care. But some are working to change that.