November 15th, 2021
The Out-of-Pocket Health News Digest
Below you will find briefs about recent health policy news stories. Our hope is for students to have an information outlet at their fingertips to keep up-to-date with the most pressing news stories in health policy.
This compilation is produced by the HPSA Education Committee: Brynna Thigpen, Christopher Whitlock, Easheta Shah, Hannah Lane, Hassan Kourani, Jourdan Clements, and Lizzy Peppercorn
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Strengthens Public Health Infrastructure, in Michigan and Elsewhere
by Hassan Kourani
With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, Michigan is set to receive approximately $10 billion in new infrastructure funding, with an estimated $1.3 billion dedicated to improving clean water and replacing lead pipes in the state. The Governor estimates that 10,000 jobs will be created through this initiative. Across the nation, there are currently up to 10 million homes with lead pipe services, and the White House estimates that “ 400,000 schools and child care facilities are at risk of exposure to lead.”

In addition to pipe line replacement, Michigan will also receive funding to modernize and improve its public transit system and highways. The White House reports that in Michigan, where non-white households are nearly 6 times more likey to use public transportations, nearly 17% of trains and other transit vehicles have outlived their unseflessness. 

Outside the state of Michigan, the bill also invests in public health by funding electric busses for schools that have historically relied on diesel powered busses and by investing in the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, providing funding to communities to develop clean energy programs and jobs.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is widely expected by Democrats to be a precursor bill to the larger, more comprehensive Build Back Better, where much more public health and social funding is expected to be included. The nearly $1 trillion BIF is expected to be signed by President Biden on Monday. Negotiations for the Build Back Better package remain ongoing, but the House of Representatives has indicated that they expect to pass their version by the end of the month. 
Oklahoma Overturns Opioid Ruling against Johnson & Johnson
by Easheta Shah
This past Tuesday, Oklahoma’s highest court overturned the 2019 ruling against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (J&J). In 2019, the lower court ruled in favor of the argument that J&J had created a public nuisance through the marketing of prescription pain medication in a $465 million verdict to alleviate the crisis in Oklahoma. This was the first major lawsuit related to the nation’s opioid epidemic.

On Tuesday, the OK Supreme Court rejected the ruling on the grounds of the former judge’s misinterpretation of public nuisance laws, and any promised compensation toward community treatment and programs was rescinded. Public nuisance laws cover a miscellaneous sort of offenses that cause harm to a localized community. For example, local governments in the past have made claims against oil companies for their carbon dioxide emissions. While the latest J&J ruling contested the 2019 claim, insisting that public nuisance laws must be reserved exclusively to local issues and not an epidemic, many public health experts believe the opioid crisis is a direct result of aggressive sales made by mass distributors since the late 1990s. This makes “public nuisance” seem like an appropriate verdict.

Still, a week before the Oklahoma ruling, a California judge similarly determined that the local government could not prove the significant rise in prescriptions was due to deceptive marketing and not a medically appropriate provision. The companies for which the lawsuit was against included Johnson & Johnson, along with Endo International, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and others. The technicality of “public nuisance” continues as opioid-related lawsuits are underway in New York, Ohio and West Virginia. New York’s case sued the same defendants as California’s while West Virginia filed against AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. These cases seek to provide some kind of settlement for communities affected by addiction.

In recent years, the number of overdose deaths across the country only continue to rise, suggesting the need for a robust federal response for which the Biden Administration is currently negotiating a plan for with Congress. 

Sources: NPR, Washington Post
One-Liners
  • Biden’s E-Cigarette Tax: Biden’s new tax provision on vaping products including e-cigarettes, vaping liquids, and oral pouches would apply a $1.10 tax rate per pack to discourage underage use with no tax increase on traditional cigarettes, leaving some experts wary of the consequences (WSJ).
  • CDC comes to AA: Because of the massive flu outbreak on the Ann Arbor campus at the University of Michigan, the CDC is coming to do research regarding transmission of the flu and the effectiveness of this year's flu vaccine. This effort will be headed by Michigan Medicine, the Washtenaw County Health Department, and the CDC (DFP).
  • Vaccine mandates: Ten states have filed lawsuits regarding vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. The states cite that the government does not have the authority for state mandates such as these, that those that were once heroes are now losing their jobs, and that the mandate will add to the healthcare worker shortage (NYT).