Opioids bill leaves industry with donut hole to fill

27 September 2018

The US Congress has agreed on a wide-ranging bill aimed at tackling the burgeoning epidemic of opioids abuse in the country, while rejecting a pharma industry amendment that would have reduced drugmakers' share of medicine costs under Medicare.

There were a reported 72,000 overdose deaths in the USA last year.

The bill, which received bipartisan support, includes a provision to block the deadly opioid fentanyl from being illegally imported through the postal system, and promotes the use of painkillers that are not addictive.

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