State and native governments are receiving billions of {dollars} in settlements from firms that made, offered, or distributed prescription painkillers and had been accused of fueling the opioid disaster. Greater than a dozen firms pays the cash over almost twenty years. As of late February 2024, greater than $4.3 billion had landed in authorities coffers.
KFF Well being Information has been monitoring how that cash is used — or misused — nationwide.
However figuring out how a lot of that windfall arrived in a selected county or metropolis — and the way a lot will comply with sooner or later — may be difficult. Most localities should not required to make the knowledge public.
BrownGreer, the court-appointed agency administering the settlements, tracks a lot of this knowledge however stored it personal till KFF Well being Information negotiated to acquire it final yr. KFF Well being Information made that data public for the primary time final June.
5 months later, BrownGreer started quietly posting up to date variations of the knowledge on a public web site.
Roma Petkauskas, a companion at BrownGreer, informed KFF Well being Information that the change was made to help state and native governments in accessing the knowledge simply and “to advertise transparency into the administration” of the settlements. She stated the info is up to date “usually when new funds are issued,” which may be as frequent as twice a month.
KFF Well being Information downloaded the info on March 4 and remodeled it from state-by-state spreadsheets with separate entries for every settling firm to a searchable database. Customers can decide the entire greenback quantity their metropolis, county, or state has obtained or expects to obtain every year.
Figuring out how a lot cash has arrived is step one in assessing whether or not the settlements will make a dent within the nation’s habit disaster.
Though that is probably the most complete knowledge obtainable at a nationwide scale, it supplies only a snapshot of all opioid settlement payouts.
The data presently displays solely the most important settlement to this point: $26 billion to be paid by pharmaceutical distributors AmerisourceBergen (now referred to as Cencora), Cardinal Well being, and McKesson, in addition to opioid producer Janssen (now often known as Johnson & Johnson Modern Medication).
Most states have additionally settled with drug producers Teva and Allergan, in addition to Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS. Petkauskas stated BrownGreer started distributing funds from these 5 firms in 2024 and plans to replace its knowledge to replicate such funds in July.
Different settlements, together with with OxyContin producer Purdue, are nonetheless pending.
This knowledge doesn’t replicate extra settlements that some state and native governments have entered into past the nationwide offers, such because the settlement between Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio and regional grocery store chain Meijer.
As such, this database undercounts the quantity of opioid settlement cash most locations have obtained and can obtain.
Fee particulars for some states should not obtainable as a result of these states weren’t a part of nationwide settlement agreements, had distinctive settlement phrases, or opted to not have their funds distributed by way of BrownGreer. Just a few examples embody:
- Alabama and West Virginia declined to hitch a number of nationwide settlements and as a substitute reached particular person settlements with many of those firms.
- Texas and Nevada had been paid in full by Janssen exterior of the nationwide settlement, so their payout knowledge displays funds solely from AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Well being, and McKesson.
- Florida, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, amongst others, opted to obtain a lump-sum fee by way of BrownGreer then distribute the cash to localities themselves.
KFF Well being Information’ Colleen DeGuzman contributed to this report. Jai Aslam additionally contributed.
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