Duo to Push Opioid Settlement Toward Hospitals

In a Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018 file photo, Ohio Gov. John Kasich sits for an interview with The Associated Press in Columbus. West Virginia University President Gordon Gee and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich are creating a nonprofit that will fight to steer money from any national opioid settlement to hospitals and health-based research. Gee and Kasich will announce Citizens for Effective Opioid Treatment on Thursday, August 22, 2019. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)   COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — West Virginia University President Gordon Gee and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich are creating a nonprofit that will fight to steer cash from any national opioid settlement to hospitals, rather than to local and state governments already sparring for control of the dollars. Gee and Kasich say Citizens for Effective Opioid Treatment, a 501(c)4 organization to be announced Thursday, will educate policymakers and the public about the negative impact the opioid epidemic has had on health care infrastructure and advance health-related research solutions to the crisis. "It's an educational effort," Gee said. "We want to help people understand that this is a crisis and that the caregivers — the hospitals, in particular — are really leading the charge in order to be able to both give care and solve the problem." The duo's plan is the latest move in a tug-of-war over what to do with the potential billions that could flow from a national opioid settlement with drugmakers and di...
Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: AP News Tag Source Type: news