Biden administration finalizes rules to ensure insurers pay for mental health care
The Biden administration on Monday announced it would finalize a highly anticipated proposal meant to…
Category: addiction
Our investigation of UnitedHealth, explainer on Oropouche and news on maternal health
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NIH launches $270 million anti-overdose research program for, and led by, Native Americans
Fatal drug overdoses shot up during the peak of Covid-19 in 2020. And as the…
The politics of mifepristone in the 2024 election
You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and…
Morning Rounds: Getting healthier in the checkout aisle and the alcohol aisle
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What’s in a drink? U.S. regulators consider new alcohol label, but health advocates want even more
If you twirl a bottle of alcohol and squint, you might see a text box…
Trump’s real health care agenda isn’t in Project 2025 — it’s in his own words
WASHINGTON — Former President Trump has made it abundantly clear that nobody else speaks for…
FDA approves Purdue Pharma’s controversial new overdose-reversal medication
Purdue Pharma, the company best known for fueling the opioid crisis by misleadingly marketing the…
STAT+: Lawmakers cast doubt on expert panel studying alcohol for 2025 dietary guidelines
Alcohol policy researchers are fuming over a letter sent by members of Congress last month,…
Politics is holding back the best tool for treating meth addiction
When it comes to treating methamphetamine addiction, the use of behavioral incentives is settled science….
Biden administration should push for addiction medication in recovery houses, groups say
The Biden administration isn’t doing enough to ensure people living in recovery housing have access…
Substance use stayed at high levels in 2023, while vaping increased and smoking fell
Rates of mental illness and substance use remained largely stable in 2023, according to federal…
Q&A: Trans adults face ‘shocking’ risk of cirrhosis, especially alcohol-driven
People under 45 have been driving an increase in liver-related deaths, especially those caused by…
Opinion: NIDA should beware of funding companies that violate people’s privacy
In a ground-breaking settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, two online addiction and mental health…
Opinion: To overcome the overdose crisis, addiction treatment must be integrated into the health care system
The first time I saw Maya (not her real name) huddled under blankets in a…
Opinion: Addressing the dual epidemics of hepatitis C and opioid use
Hepatitis C and opioid use disorder are both chronic but treatable conditions. Yet many Americans…
Alcohol is driving a half-dozen types of cancer in the U.S., study finds
Alcohol has long been classified as a cancer-causing substance, but a study out Thursday gives…
Elmo and his friends are helping little kids (and grown-ups) with their ‘big feelings’ amid a mental health crisis
WASHINGTON — When Elmo asked “How is everybody doing?” back in January, he was not…
Opinion: Everyone deserves addiction treatment that works — including those in jail
The overdose crisis is claiming lives across the United States, but it reaches new depths…
Upending Purdue Pharma’s settlement does little to help today’s opioid crisis, advocates say
The drug policy world has been left torn by the Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday…
Pressed on addiction, Trump and Biden talk border security but don’t mention treatment
President Biden and former President Trump were each given the chance on Thursday to speak…
Opinion: To get basic standard addiction treatment, Americans should move to Canada
As a Canadian-born physician who has treated people with opioid use disorder on both sides…
By the numbers: America’s alcohol-related health problems are rising fast
In the pit of the pandemic, with no one to see and nowhere to go,…
WHO warns global health toll of alcohol remains ‘unacceptably high’
The global health toll of alcohol remains “unacceptably high” across the globe, the World Health…
Substance use experts are sounding the alarm on another addiction: gambling
LAS VEGAS — Downstairs was a sensory overload: Roulette wheels spun, slot-machine chimes rang, and…
Ambitious federal study failed to curb opioid deaths, NIH announces
In 2019, amid an ever-worsening drug crisis, the federal government launched a research study with…
Opinion: Readers respond to mothers in treatment for opioid use disorder, pandemic models, and more
To encourage robust, good-faith discussion about issues raised in First Opinion, STAT publishes selected Letters…
Opinion: Listen: Among pregnant people, active treatment for addiction shouldn’t trigger a call to child protective services
Methadone and buprenorphine, both FDA-approved drugs, are considered the gold standard for treating opioid use…
Drug treatment that insists on abstinence? Federal agencies are just saying no
For as long as the federal government has worked to support substance use treatment, it…
Opinion: Mothers in treatment for opioid use disorder shouldn’t also have to fight child protective services
Pregnant people and new mothers who are being treated for opioid addiction often have to…
At Las Vegas conference, methadone clinics blast idea of doctors prescribing directly
LAS VEGAS — Mark Parrino, the longtime leader of the U.S. methadone clinic industry, kicked…
Reversing progress, stroke rates are rising, especially in working-age adults
Stroke prevalence has been climbing over the past decade, reversing a steady decline among all…
Off-label treatment for alcohol use disorder is linked to slower liver decline, study suggests
WASHINGTON — There are three FDA-approved drugs for treating alcohol use disorder. But a different…
Amid backlash to harm reduction, addiction experts warn against reprising ‘war on drugs’
SAN FRANCISCO — Amid what feels like an ever-worsening drug crisis here, locals and politicians…
Drug overdose deaths fell for first time in five years, though still exceeded 100,000
U.S. drug deaths decreased slightly in 2023, according to new data, the first decrease in…
STAT+: Novo to test Wegovy and other obesity drugs against alcohol-related liver disease
Novo Nordisk will test whether its GLP-1 drugs can help people with alcohol-associated liver disease,…
Watch: Restaurant workers can serve your food, bring your drinks, and maybe save your life
BOSTON — The tables set up near the entrance of the Big Night Live concert venue…
Opinion: Congress: Close Medicare’s dangerous gaps in coverage for addiction treatment
While many people immediately picture young adults when thinking about the current addiction and overdose…
Merck may have a competition for ever-scarce BCG
Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get…
Biden administration punts menthol cigarette rule indefinitely
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is walking away from a plan to permanently bar menthol cigarettes,…
Opinion: Does addiction make you un-American?
Should Prince Harry be deported from the United States due to his past drug use?…
Federal judge rules against Philadelphia supervised drug consumption effort
A federal judge this week dealt a major and likely decisive blow to Safehouse, a…
How resurrecting extinct species might impact medicine
Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get…
How expanded methadone access helped Switzerland defuse its drug crisis
ZURICH — The lobby of this addiction clinic is unremarkable, really, except for the network…
Opinion: Methadone treatment has been reformed for the better. States shouldn’t go back to the old ways
Since the Food and Drug Administration approved methadone for treating opioid use disorder in 1972,…
Top U.S. addiction researcher calls GLP-1 data for addiction ‘very, very exciting’
Early data regarding the use of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy to treat addiction…
STAT+: Ibogaine, the psychedelic, unlikely to receive approval as opioid treatment, says top addiction researcher
The psychedelic ibogaine is unlikely to ever receive approval as a treatment for opioid addiction,…
Overdose deaths hit another record but show signs of leveling off
The U.S. recorded 107,941 drug overdose deaths in 2022, according to a new federal report…
STAT+: Q&A: Mark Parrino says it’s time to ‘completely re-examine’ methadone treatment for opioid addiction
Nobody has made more of an impact on methadone treatment than Mark Parrino. For decades,…
STAT+: The methadone clinic monopoly: Opioid treatment chains backed by private equity are fighting calls for reform
Private equity firms have acquired stakes in nearly one-third of all methadone clinics in recent…