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Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) on Thursday touted legislation to use telehealth to prescribe drugs to treat opioid addiction, a move he said would make it easier to fight the epidemic. “This will give the opportunity for physicians, through telemedicine, to actually prescribe controlled substances such as what we use in medication assisted treatment,” Carter said at an event on telehealth hosted by The Hill and sponsored by the Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety. (Sullivan, 9/27)

Kaiser Health News: Buried In Congress’ Opioid Bill Is Protection For Personal Drug Imports 

The final version of the massive opioid bill Congress released Wednesday would grant the Food and Drug Administration new powers to crack down on drug imports, but it also includes a provision — nearly killed in the Senate — to shield people who are just trying to buy cheaper, needed prescription medication from other countries. Broadly, the bill seeks to enlist the FDA in combating the opioid crisis by mandating that the agency take steps to accelerate development of non-opioid painkillers and to limit the supplies of the drugs, both illegal and legitimate, that claimed the lives of more than 49,000 people last year. (McAuliff, 9/27)

Congressional negotiators on Thursday made a pair of changes to the sweeping opioid response bill after the Congressional Budget Office projected the legislation would grow the deficit by $44 million over a decade, Republican and Democratic aides confirmed to POLITICO. One change would broaden Obamacare's religious exemption to the health law's individual mandate so it applies to people who forgo medical care for religious reasons. (Ehley and Karlin-Smith, 9/27)

It took more than 10 minutes for paramedics to arrive after a housekeeper found a man collapsed on the floor of a bathroom in a Boston Veteran Affairs building. The paramedics immediately administered naloxone, often known by its brand name Narcan, to reverse the man's opioid overdose. But brain damage can begin after just a few minutes without oxygen. (Bebinger, 9/27)

Over 13 people died a day on average in Ohio due to drug overdoses last year, a new high as the state battles the opioid epidemic. Gov. John Kasich, who will leave office in January, played defense during a Thursday afternoon news conference where the death tally was announced, emphasizing the work he's accomplished to make some progress in the battle against the drugs - such as heroin and prescription opioid-related overdose deaths decreasing. (Hancock, 9/27)

An opioid task force arrested 76 people on drug charges in a sweep of traffickers on western North Carolina tribal land, U.S Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Thursday. Federal, state, local and tribal officers fanned out in recent days to serve arrest warrants on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' reservation and in nearby communities as the culmination of an undercover operation begun weeks ago, Zinke said at a news conference in Asheville. (Drew, 9/27)

Ten Kansas nurses and nurse aides have been charged with Medicaid fraud, stealing narcotic medications and mistreating vulnerable adults after an enforcement sweep by the state’s attorney general. At least eight are still licensed to work in the state, according to the Kansas State Board of Nursing and Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services online search tools. (Marso and Rizzo, 9/28)