US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., himself in long-term recovery from opioid addiction, says a national emergency declaration linked to opioid overdose deaths will be extended past Friday's expiration date. JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption
Guillermo A. Santos on his high school graduation day in 2021, with his father, Guillermo Jose Santos. The elder Santos died later the same year of a drug overdose. The Santos-Honkala Family hide caption
The Justice Department announced charges against 78 people related to health care fraud schemes. Samuel Corum/Getty Images hide caption
Registered nurse Jamie Simmons speaks with a patient during an appointment at the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center in Massachusetts. The patient, whose first name is Kim, says buprenorphine has helped her stay off heroin and avoid an overdose for nearly 20 years. Jesse Costa for KHN hide caption
The Walgreens logo on the front of a store, July 14, 2021, in Cambridge, Mass. Charles Krupa/AP hide caption
In 2021, the three leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer and COVID-19. Andy Ryan/Getty Images hide caption
Fentanyl took root in Montana and in communities across the Mountain West region during the pandemic, and overall drug overdose deaths are disproportionately affecting Native Americans. Tony Bynum for KHN hide caption
Most of the funds from the settlement with manufacturers and distributors of opioids such as oxycodone will go to health care and drug treatment programs designed to ease the opioid crisis. Keith Srakocic/AP file photo hide caption
Cars pass Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn. A federal mediator said in a filing Friday that Purdue's owners are willing to increase their offer for a settlement in lawsuits over the toll of opioids. Frank Franklin II/AP file photo hide caption
Shell neurons (green) project to the breathing center and core neurons (red) project to the pain/emotion center. Brain scientists have found the two are linked, shedding new light on opioid overdoses Salk Institute hide caption
Patients with opioid addiction who show up in a hospital's ER face many barriers to recovery, and so do the doctors trying to help them. Easing those barriers on both sides helps patients get into good follow-up programs that lead to lasting change. Terry Vine/Getty Images hide caption
A pedestrian walks past a mural in Huntington, W.Va., on March 18. Huntington was once ground zero for the U.S. opioid epidemic. David Goldman/AP hide caption
While continuing to deny any wrongdoing, Johnson & Johnson will contribute $5 billion over a nine-year span to the $26 billion opioid settlement announced Wednesday. Steven Senne/AP hide caption
Jameson Rybak, son of Jim and Suzanne Rybak of Florence, S.C., struggled with opioid addiction and died of an overdose on June 9, 2020 — three months after he left a hospital ER because he feared he couldn't afford treatment. Gavin McIntyre/Kaiser Health News hide caption
Purdue Pharma faced an avalanche of lawsuits for alleged harm caused by its prescription opioid medicine OxyContin. A controversial bankruptcy deal expected to be finalized next month would block lawsuits against members of the Sackler family who own the firm. Darren McCollester/Getty Images hide caption
The federal opioid trial involving drug distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson is taking place in the Robert C. Byrd Courthouse in Charleston, W.Va. The trial is expected to establish whether the drug distributors, accused of failing to curb the flow of prescription painkillers, face liability nationwide. Brian Mann/NPR hide caption
David (left) and Kathe Sackler, members of the family that owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, testified via video to a House Oversight Committee hearing on Dec. 17, 2020. Sackler family members have acknowledged that the drug had a role in the opioid crisis, but they have stopped short of apologizing or admitting wrongdoing. House Television via AP hide caption
Steve Collis, president and chief executive officer of AmerisourceBergen Corp., testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on May 8, 2018. Bloomberg/Getty Images hide caption
OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. The global business consulting firm McKinsey & Company has agreed to a $573 million settlement over its role in the opioid crisis. Toby Talbot/AP hide caption
Newly public documents detail the role of members of the Sackler family, owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, during years when the privately owned drug company launched criminal schemes designed to "turbocharge" sales of Oxycontin and other highly addictive opioid medications. Toby Talbot/AP hide caption
Researchers point to a devastating new development: Fentanyl is making swift inroads in the western U.S., where it used to be rare. Cornelia Li for NPR hide caption
President Donald Trump speaks at the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit on April 24, 2019 in Atlanta. President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Jessica McGowan/Getty Images hide caption