3/7/22 - Opioid Settlement Money will Begin Reaching States Including MI

800 Million dollars will reach Michigan over the next 18 years.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says no amount of money will bring back a loved one, but the money agreed upon in this opioid settlement will enable others to be spared.

Nessel was joined today by county and city leaders as they highlight next steps in the $26 billion opioid settlements with the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors – Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen – and opioid manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson.
The defendants will start releasing funds to a national administrator on April 2, 2022. Money will start flowing to state and local governments in the second or third quarter of 2022.

The money will go towards abatement and support programs throughout the state.  According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2018, opioids were involved in 70% of all overdose deaths in the state.  And when it comes to prescriptions, In 2018, Michigan providers wrote 62.7 opioid prescriptions for every 100 persons compared to the average U.S. rate of 51.4 prescriptions.

This is the second largest multi-state agreement in U.S. history, second only to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.