IND Communities To Participate In $507M Opioid Settlement
Thu, 06/09/2022 - 15:32
Indiana's Attorney General informed that all the cities, towns and counties in Indiana are now participating in the $507 million opioid settlement with major pharmaceutical distributors and manufacturers.
A total of 46 states and many local governments alleged the four companies, including pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen, along with manufacturer and marketer Johnson & Johnson, to acquire the settlement. The settlement is part of a $26 billion nationwide agreement where the opioid makers and distributors will pay for the opioid crisis throughout the nation.
The AG said that the settlement amount is not sufficient to compensate the families who have lost their loved ones. But it will help to prevent a future similar crisis by providing decent funds to implement prevention strategies. The important programs that would be funded by the settlement include drug task forces, regional treatment hubs, early intervention, crisis support and local law enforcement efforts.
As per the agreement, 70% of the funds would be used for opioid abatement efforts in local communities. The state and local leaders would decide about spending the amount in equal halves. The remaining 305 would also be divided equally between state and local communities so the leaders can decide the best way to spend the money.
The AG informed that the disbursement plan for the opioid settlement is executed to make sure that the local and individual communities receive maximum funding and could decide the usage of the funds.
Commission Members Announced To Oversee Opioid Crisis
Wed, 06/08/2022 - 13:31
The Attorney General of Kentucky announced members of a group who will oversee the settlement money's allocation that will be used to combat opioid addiction in the state.
The state has reached a $483 million settlement with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and three major distributors and will receive the payments from the nationwide settlement of $26 billion.
The attorney general of the state has announced the members of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission to deal with the opioid addiction epidemic and has declared the crisis as the greatest public safety challenge of the state's lifetime.
As per the agreement, half of the settlement amount would be allotted to cities and counties for opioid-abuse abatement efforts. The other half of the settlement would be overseen by the commission. The state would implement relevant projects, including intervention, treatment and recovery services to deal with the crisis.
The commission will soon meet to finalize the framework do the fund distribution. He even encouraged all the officials involved in the agreement to come forward with suitable solutions that will help the state to break the cycle of opioid addiction.
The members of the commission would include the state treasurer, state representative and secretary of the state's Health and Family Services. It will even include stakeholders from the prevention and treatment community, victims of the opioid crisis and law enforcement. The executive director of the attorney general’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control will serve as the commission's executive director.
Fentanyl, which is a powerful synthetic opioid, is the prime reason for the fatal drug overdose surge in Kentucky.