Thursday, November 2, 2017

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook Local connection to OPIOIDS report — BUDGET talks stall out — QUINCY to sue big drug makers



11/02/2017 07:00 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski)
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
FEDS RELEASE OPIOID REPORT - The bipartisan Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, which includes Gov. Charlie Baker, released its final report yesterday in its attempt to staunch the daily estimated loss of 175 lives nationally due to the epidemic.
The report calls for increased funding in the form of block grants to states but did not put a dollar amount on how much money would be needed going forward. As commission chairman Gov. Chris Christie put it in the executive summary, "It is not the Commission's charge to quantify the amount of these resources, so we do not do so in this report."
There's a Massachusetts connection to the recommendations, including re-upping the prescription monitoring program to reduce opioid prescriptions and creating curricula for medical students around pain management and addiction prevention, both of which have been successfully implemented in Massachusetts.
Baker, who called in to yesterday's commission meeting while in California on a working vacation with his wife, noted that the funding increase, among other action items, "can start making a difference in every state if acted upon by the White House and Congress."
Last week, many Massachusetts Democrats quickly railed against the Trump administration's national emergency declaration around the opioid epidemic. But the recommendations have at least the tepid support of one member of the DC delegation.
Sen. Ed Markey has praised the "sensible policies" recommended by the working group in a statement yesterday, though he added that the "recommendations will be little more than ink on paper unless the President requests a specific amount of funding for the federal government and states to implement them."
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
TODAY - The Senate meets in formal session - The City of Worcester holds a press conference about coordinated efforts to handle the influx of evacuees displaced by hurricanes Irma and Maria. Already the city of seven hills as 180 new residents and over 100 new students in Worcester Public Schools - State Senate President Stan Rosenberg hosts an unveiling ceremony for former Senate President Terry Murray's official portrait.
** A message from PhRMA: Are middlemen really holding down the cost of medicines? Biopharmaceutical companies set the list prices for their medicines, but it's your insurer that decides how much you pay out of pocket. More than one-third of the list price is rebated back to middlemen, but these savings aren't always shared with patients. http://onphr.ma/2zcTOi3 **

DATELINE BEACON HILL -
- "No movement on stalled mini-budget talks," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "House and Senate lawmakers trying to negotiate a mini budget that's been rife with discord did not meet in person on Wednesday, but that didn't stop the sniping. ... A day after the comptroller's office confirmed that legislative inaction means Massachusetts will be late to close its books for the second time in the last three fiscal years, little progress seemed to be made to resolve a roughly $130 million budget bill that also includes a section banning devices that can enable guns to fire like illegal, automatic weapons."
- "House Approves Putting Mass. On Paris Accord Standards, But Senate Could Go Even Further," by Mike Deehan, WGBH News: "The House easily passed a bill that would put the state in line with the emissions standards put forward by the Paris agreement by 2025. ... But Lexington Sen. Michael Barrett, the Senate's Energy committee chairman, says that Massachusetts law already says the state has to be near that level by 2020. Barrett says lawmakers need to set more aggressive goals for 2025 instead of stopping at the Paris-approved levels."
- "Feeney brings aggressive agenda to Mass. Senate," by Andy Metzger, State House News Service: "The Senate gained another Democrat Wednesday as Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito swore in Paul Feeney of Foxborough, who was quickly installed as the new chairman of the Legislature's Public Service Committee."
YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS - "Commission approves report on switch to Atlantic Time Zone, passes it to Legislature," by J.D. Capelouto, Lowell Sun: "A report that extols the virtues of switching Massachusetts' time zone - and warns of some potential pitfalls - will be forwarded to lawmakers after being approved by a special commission Wednesday, just four days before most of the country will fall back an hour."
TRUMPACHUSETTS -
- "Birth control mandate would raise insurance costs," by Christian M. Wade, Gloucester Times: "A proposed mandate requiring health plans to pay for birth control would drive up insurance premiums by at least $5.3 million over the next five years, according to a new report. ... The state's Center for Health Information and Analysis report, released Tuesday, suggests that the mandate would cost individuals 7 to 20 cents more over the next five years."
- "AG Maura Healey, congressional delegation call for EPA hearings in Massachusetts on carbon rules," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, the Massachusetts House speaker and Senate president, and the entire Massachusetts congressional delegation are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to hold hearings in Massachusetts on the proposed repeal of federal regulations relating to carbon pollution."
DATELINE DC -
- "Gov. Charlie Baker urges Congress to reauthorize CHIP, health centers," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Gov. Charlie Baker sent a letter to U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday urging Congress to reauthorize funding for two health care programs."
- "US Rep. Richard Neal urges GOP to slow tax overhaul process, blasts proposed cap on retirement savings contributions," by Shannon Young, Springfield Republican: "With Republicans having delayed the introduction of their plan to overhaul the U.S. tax code, Congressman Richard Neal, D-Springfield, urged House GOP leaders Wednesday to respectively slow down the process lawmakers will use to consider the high-profile legislation."
WARREN REPORT -
- "The Supreme Court Has An Ethics Problem," by Elizabeth Warren, POLITICO: "Justices on the high court don't have to follow the same code of conduct as they do in lower courts. That needs to change."
ON THE STUMP -
- "'Vote-farming' fraud alleged amid City Council race between former mayor's son and former mayor's staffer," by Gintautas Dumcius, Masslive.com: "Two community groups are alleging voter fraud, saying elderly voters in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood were the victims of 'vote-farming' ahead of the Nov. 7 election."
- "Tito Jackson's Closing Argument," by WGBH's The Scrum: "In less than one week, Boston voters will either give Mayor Marty Walsh a second term or hand the reins of the city government to his challenger, City Councilor Tito Jackson. The Scrum invited Walsh and Jackson to answer a few lingering questions and then make their final pitch to the electorate. Walsh wasn't able to participate, but Jackson was. Take a listen as he makes his case."
WOOD WAR - Herald: "$558M BENEFITS BONANZA!" "WHAT A SMASH" Globe: "TERRORISM HITS HOME, AGAIN," "Merger may raise health costs $61m, report says," "MUSIC TO A TEACHER'S EARS," "More victims, abusers listed in St. Paul's report," "Faded ticket, clear response."
THE LOCAL ANGLE -
- "Quincy plans to sue big drug makers over opioid crisis," by Michael Levenson, Boston Globe: "Quincy, hard hit by the opioid crisis, said Wednesday that it will become the first city in Massachusetts to sue the pharmaceutical industry for allegedly downplaying the dangers of opioids and flooding the market with addictive and deadly painkillers."
- "State reports 31,000 still without power," by Rick Sobey, Lowell Sun: "Most Greater Lowell residents will have power restored back by midday Wednesday, a National Grid spokesman said, more than 50 hours after Sunday night's storm walloped the region."
- "From Russia, a pro-Trump Facebook ad that cites an East Boston shooting," by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "A Russia-backed pro-Trump Facebook ad that featured during last year's presidential election cited a bloody, police-involved shooting in East Boston in an attempt to sway people to vote for President Trump, according to federal documents made public Wednesday."
- "Attorney General's Office files emergency motion in Berkshire Museum suit," by Larry Parnass, Berkshire Eagle: "The office acted after participating in a two-hour hearing before Judge John Agostini that appeared to leave that quest on life support, as plaintiffs' attorneys struggled to convince the judge their clients held necessary legal standing to challenge the museum's planned sale."
- "WBUR continues to push for release of juror names in terrorism trial," by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "But in court documents filed Wednesday, WBUR-FM, through an attorney representing Boston University trustees, Jeffrey J. Pyle, said no media entity 'may be required to agree to a prior restraint on their speech as a condition of receiving court records to which they have a First Amendment right of access.'"
- "Sex, spies, and classical music: The BSO scandal you've never heard of," by Neal Swidey, Boston Globe Magazine: "One hundred years ago, one of the world's top conductors was ensnared in a scandal involving patriotism and sex. It almost toppled Boston's famed orchestra."
MEDIA MATTERS - "WBZ, The Sports Hub get new owners as Entercom moves to complete radio merger," by Andy Rosen, Boston Globe: "Some of Boston's best-known radio stations will get new owners under a deal unveiled on Wednesday aimed at winning federal approval of Entercom Communications Corp.'s merger with CBS Radio. ... In one of the biggest shake-ups in Boston radio history, the companies said they agreed to the following moves to get antitrust clearance from the US Justice Department."
MAZEL! - to Maydad Cohen, newly named Business Development and Government Affairs Executive for the New England Region for NTT DATA Services.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! - The Celtics beat the Kings 113-86.
TWO FOR THE SHOW - We've got two showdowns coming at you this week on The Horse Race. First, we analyze Marty and Tito after their first (and last) mayoral debate. Then, John Kingston and Beth Lindstrom get testy over a U.S. Senate seat. Plus, turns out local elections are important - who knew? We're joined by a very special guest host this week: WGBH's one and only Mike Deehan! Subscribe and listen now on iTunes andSound Cloud.
- And save the date for a live Horse Race event at Ned Devine's in Boston on Nov. 28. No actual horses, just a lot of jockeying for #mapoli insights. Plus, there will be swag! More details coming soon.
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** A message from PhRMA: Are middlemen really holding down the cost of medicines? Ever wonder who decides what you pay for your medicines? It's not who you might think. Biopharmaceutical companies set the list prices for their medicines, but it's your insurer that ultimately determines how much you pay out of pocket. More than one-third of the list price of a medicine is rebated back to middlemen, like insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). These rebates and discounts create savings of more than $100 billion, but these savings aren't always shared directly with patients. Patients share the costs. They should share the savings. http://onphr.ma/2zcTOi3 **




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