Senate Bill May Force Rise In Suits For Opioid Funding

By Adam Fleischer and R. Patrick Bedell (June 27, 2017, 4:45 PM EDT) -- Last week's unveiling of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA) by Senate Republicans may complicate the efforts of pharmaceutical companies and insurers to evaluate the exposures from the expanding volume of lawsuits against the opioid industry. With the worst drug crisis in American history bearing down on pharmaceutical companies and those who insure them, the Senate proposal to repeal and replace the nation's healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may significantly reduce funding for opioid treatment. In the wake of those cuts, state and local governments seeking new sources of funding to combat the epidemic may have increased incentive to sue manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids. An increase in such suits may inevitably shift the financial burden of the crises to the pharmaceutical defendants and their liability insurers....

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