CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICOpioid prescriptions have tripled since 1999 | 0:52
Doctors are cutting back on opioid prescriptions but not by nearly enough, federal health officials said.
Wochit
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICTrying to stop the opioid epidemic is an uphill battle | 1:11
To stop the opioid epidemic, the CDC is telling doctors to cut back on opioid painkiller prescriptions, but some people just end up turning to heroin.
Video provided by Newsy
Newslook
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICFDA asks opioid maker to stop sales | 0:37
At the request of federal regulators, the maker of painkiller Opana ER is pulling the drug off the market because of abuse.
After consulting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on Thursday Endo International PLC said it will voluntarily stop selling the pills. They were approved for use in patients with severe, constant pain. When used as intended, the company says the extended-release opioid is safe and effective.
Last month, the FDA said it had concluded the drug is too risky.
It’s the first drug that the FDA has sought to remove from the market due to abuse.
Wochit
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICHigh opioid use revealed in survey | 0:40
More than one in five people insured by Blue Cross and Blue Shield were prescribed an opioid painkiller at least once in 2015, the insurance company reported.
Wochit
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICHow wide is the opioid epidemic’s reach? | 0:37
A new report found that opioid epidemics do not discriminate by age or areas of the country.
Wochit
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICFirst responders cope with endless heroin overdoses | 2:14
Opiod overdose runs are becoming commonplace across the country. First responders are dealing with an epidemic never before seen. It weighs on them.
Liz Dufour
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICAddicts using in public to avoid overdosing | 0:49
In a way to ensure they won’t overdose and not be found until it’s too late, opioid addicts are now using and collapsing in public in increasing numbers.
Wochit
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICThese two drugs drive the opioid epidemic | 0:34
Carfentanil and fentanyl are some of the driving forces in the most deadly drug epidemic the United States has ever seen.
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICScience Says: Why Are Opioids so Addictive? | 1:54
Pleasure. Craving. Withdrawal. When opioids act on the brain, they trigger the same processes that give people feelings of pleasure from activities like eating, but they do it far more intensely. (May 2)
AP
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICThe search is on for opioid alternatives | 2:05
The nation’s opioid crisis is forcing doctors and pharmaceutical companies to find alternatives to the highly addictive narcotic painkillers so often prescribed. (April 17)
AP
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICOpioid overdose drug spikes 600 percent in price as ODs increase | 1:03
The price of Evzio, a device intended to prevent death during an opioid overdose, has been increasing as the opioid epidemic spreads. Matt Hoffman reports.
Buzz60
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICVideo: Legal opioids rise nationwide | 1:26
A USA Today Network investigation reveals steep increases in legal opioids distributed nationwide from 2007 to 2015.
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICPolitics of pain: Lobbyists fought opioid limits | 2:38
The Associated Press and The Center for Public Integrity found makers of prescription painkillers have tried to kill or weaken state measures aimed at stemming the opioid crisis that has cost 165,000 Americans their lives since 2000. (Sept. 19)
AP
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICSome of the youngest victims of the opioid epidemic are children | 2:09
Some of the youngest victims of the nation’s opioid epidemic are children under age 5 who die after swallowing opioids. The number of children’s deaths is still small relative to the overall toll from opioids, but toddler fatalities are up.
Associated Press
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICIs Fentanyl to be blamed for recent spate of drug-related deaths? | 0:40
For many people, fentanyl can be a life-saver, easing profound pain. But outside of a doctor’s office, the powerful opioid drug is also a killer.
USA TODAY
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMICMedical schools tackle opioid painkiller abuse | 1:49
Medical schools are expanding their training to help future doctors fight opioid abuse. New training programs at many schools teach students to prescribe opioid painkillers only as a last resort, and to evaluate patients for signs of drug abuse. (Ju
AP
CLOSEEXAMINING THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC8 signs of substance abuse | 0:51
Are you concerned that a loved one is using drugs? Here are some signs that they may be in the throes of addiction.
USA TODAY NETWORK
Insys Therapeutics of Chandler, already facing numerous legal challenges over the alleged improper marketing of a powerful opioid drug, was hit this week with a lawsuit from health insurer Anthem Inc.
The lawsuit came the same week that two of the company’s former sales representatives — one of them the wife of the company’s former CEO — pleaded guilty to arranging kickbacks for medical professionals.
The lawsuit, filed July 12 in U.S. District Court in Arizona, accuses the company of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy and engaging in deceptive, unfair and unlawful business practices.
RELATED: Opioid spray, deaths spur investigations
Anthem and affiliated Blue Cross entities accused Insys of scheming to obtain « millions of dollars in reimbursement from health insurers, including Anthem, that the company knew it was not entitled to » through the marketing of Subsys.
Subsys is an opioid made by Insys that’s roughly 50 times more powerful than heroin. Side effects of the fentanyl spray can include death by respiratory suppression, the lawsuit said.
Insys officials declined to comment, saying the company doesn’t discuss matters of ongoing litigation.
CLOSE
Fentanyl is way more potent than an equivalent dose of morphine. It’s designed that way.
Video provided by Newsy
Newslook
‘Sham speaker fees’ alleged
Subsys was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for a narrow group of cancer patients who were opioid-tolerant, but the company pushed up demand to a wider market by paying doctors and other health professionals to write prescriptions, disguising the payments as « sham speaker fees, » according to the lawsuit.
« To address the reimbursement challenge that it faced (from insurers), Insys simply lied about the reasons the prescriptions were being written, » according to the lawsuit filed on behalf of Anthem by law firms Coppersmith Brockelman PLC in Phoenix and Minneapolis-based Robins Kaplan LLP.
Insys created its own reimbursement team, enabling the company to control the flow of information conveyed to insurers, according to the lawsuit, which contends Insys secured more than $19 million in payments from Anthem for unauthorized prescriptions, in addition to millions of dollars in costs paid by Anthem customers.
The company also is being investigated over Subsys by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts and attorneys general in 13 states, including Arizona.
Various physicians who have interacted with the company also are under investigation, and the company is facing federal securities litigation.
One of the former sales representatives who pleaded guilty this week is Natalie Levine, 33, of Scottsdale. She is the wife of Insys’ former chief executive officer, Michael Babich.
Levine, who represented the company in three New England states, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a kickback scheme that defrauded federal health-care programs, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut. Her sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October.
Karen Hill, who represented the Miami region, pleaded guilty to the same charge.
The company saw its stock price tumble 7 percent this week. Insys shares closed July 14 at $12.15. The stock touched above $46 a share two years ago, in July 2015.
Reach the reporter at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8616.
READ MORE:
Arizona had 191 opioid overdoses, 15 deaths in one week in June
Arizona declares opioid crisis a public-health emergency
Opioid overdoses join Zika, measles as a reportable Arizona health concern
Opioid, heroin deaths surge in Arizona
CVS is the latest to ease access to opioid-overdose drug in Arizona
Ducey’s limits on opioid prescriptions raise questions in medical community
Ducey limits Medicaid, state insurance opioid prescriptions
CLOSE
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich talks about steps to fight the opioid crisis. Robert Gundran/azcentral.com