A State Project to Map Overdoses in Real Time


Brian Skinner Government & Policy, Opioid Drug Crisis

Route Fifty — By Kate Elizabeth Queram – October 14, 2020 A statewide project in Connecticut takes reports of suspected opioid overdoses from first responders and maps them in real time, helping community partners better direct their services to high-risk areas. Read more . . .        

One-Year Federal Transportation Funding Measure Approved


Brian Skinner Government & Policy, Transportation

  Route Fifty — By Andrea Noble — October 1, 2020 President Trump signed a continuing resolution Thursday that will avoid a government shutdown through December and provide a one-year extension of federal transportation funding. The extension of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act adds $13.6 billion to the Highway Trust Fund. The approval allows the …Read More

It’s Time for WV to Eliminate Prior Authorization for Substance Use Disorder Services and Medications


Brian Skinner Government & Policy, Medication-Assisted Treatment, Opioid Drug Crisis

  By Brian Skinner, Esq. As the opioid-related overdose epidemic continues to escalate in West Virginia and the nation, timely access to Food & Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for the treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) is more important than ever. Evidence shows that medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for OUD saves lives and helps people maintain …Read More

A Federal Court Overturns Lower Court and Allows New York to Require Drug Companies to Pay Tax to Cover the Costs of the Opioid Epidemic.


Brian Skinner Government & Policy, Opioid Drug Crisis, Tax Policy

  By Brian Skinner, Esq. This week a federal appeals court granted New York permission to implement an opioid tax on the manufacturers and distributors of prescription painkillers in a ruling that will enable the state to collect hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2018, New York approved the Opioid Stewardship Act which required all …Read More

Mental Health Consequences of the Pandemic and its Aftermath. 


Brian Skinner Government & Policy, Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders

  By Brian Skinner, Esq. As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on and the economy continues to suffer, policymakers must be prepared address an increased need for both a public health response and policies to increase intervention and prevention efforts associated with the mental health of the state’s population.  Recent studies are highlighting the impact the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting …Read More

Michigan Essential Workers to Get Free College


Brian Skinner Government & Policy

FREEP.COM About 625,000 essential workers in Michigan who put in time during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown and don’t have a degree are eligible for free college under a plan detailed Thursday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Futures for Frontliners, inspired by the G.I. Bill that provided college education to those serving their country in WWII, was initially announced by …Read More

Recent Studies Show Increased Unemployment Benefits Do Not Deter Workers


Brian Skinner CARES Act, Government & Policy, Unemployment Benefits

  By Brian Skinner, Esq. Economists generally agree that the $600-a-week Pandemic Unemployment Compensation supplement that went to the 32 million Americans in March as part of the CARES Act, kept the economy functioning through the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists at the University of Chicago estimated that more than two-thirds of the workers on unemployment insurance …Read More