Senate nears opioids deal as prescriptions fall

• That suggests efforts to slow overprescribing have been effective.
• But as heroin and fentanyl overdoses rise, the epidemic will demand an evolving response. 

By the numbers:

• In the first half of 2018, 74.1 metric tons of oral morphine equivalents (a way to measure opioids) was dispensed in retail outpatient settings, a 16% drop from the year before. 
• In 2017, 88.8 metric tons of opioids were dispensed, a 10.4% decrease from 2016. 

Between the lines: The Senate bill will likely address all sides of the epidemic but still primarily be focused on the problems of overprescribing and prescription opioid misuse. 

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday all Republican issues with the opioids bill had been resolved, but there was a snag among the Democrats.

The other side: Reducing opioid prescriptions isn't always a good thing, and addressing the opioid epidemic has backfired for some patients who need chronic pain treatment, Politico reports.