" Deaths of Despair " in the U.S. Require Broad Federal Policy Initiatives

It seems to me that there has been relatively little written about the current major public heath crisis in the U.S., the opioid epidemic and deaths of despair. (see:Every American family basically pays an $8,000 ‘poll tax’ under the U.S. health system, top economists say)...[Princeton University economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton] have risen to prominence in recent years for their work on America ’s “deaths of despair.” They discovered Americans between the ages of 25 and 64 have been committing suicide, overdosing on opioids or dying from alcohol-related problems like liver disease at skyrocketing rates since 2000. These “deaths of despair” have been especially large among white Americans without college degrees as job options have rapidly declined for them. Their forthcoming book, “Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism,” includes a scathing chapter examining how the U.S. health-care system has play ed a key role in these deaths.The authors call out pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, device manufacturers and doctors for their roles in driving up costs and creating the opioid epidemic.Why is the opioid crisis not the subject of intense debate in the public health community and among state and national politicians for solutions beyond limitations on opioid prescriptions (see: Overwhelmed by all the multi-million dollar opioid settlements? Here's everything you need to know)? The root causes of this problem were stated clearly in a rec...
Source: Lab Soft News - Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Medical Consumerism Medical Research Medicolegal Issues Pharmaceutical Industry Population Health Preventive Medicine Public Health Source Type: blogs