By Aneri Pattani and Lydia Zuraw and Holly Ok. Hacker
State and native governments are receiving billions of {dollars} in settlements from firms that made, bought, or distributed prescription painkillers and had been accused of fueling the opioid disaster. Greater than a dozen firms can pay the cash over almost twenty years. As of late February 2024, greater than $4.3 billion had landed in authorities coffers.
BrownGreer, the court-appointed agency administering the settlements, tracks a lot of this knowledge however stored it non-public 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.
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5 months later, BrownGreer started quietly posting up to date variations of the data on a public web site.
Roma Petkauskas, a accomplice at BrownGreer, informed KFF Well being Information that the change was made to help state and native governments in accessing the data simply and “to advertise transparency into the administration” of the settlements. She mentioned the info is up to date “frequently 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 overall 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 essentially the most complete knowledge accessible at a nationwide scale, it offers only a snapshot of all opioid settlement payouts.
The data presently displays solely the most important settlement so far: $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 called Johnson & Johnson Revolutionary Drugs).
Most states have additionally settled with drug producers Teva and Allergan, in addition to Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS. Petkauskas mentioned BrownGreer started distributing funds from these 5 firms in 2024 and plans to replace its knowledge to mirror such funds in July.
Different settlements, together with with OxyContin producer Purdue, are nonetheless pending.
This knowledge doesn’t mirror 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 accessible 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. A couple of examples embody:
Alabama and West Virginia declined to affix 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.
KFF Well being Information is a nationwide newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about well being points and is likely one of the core working applications at KFF—an impartial supply of well being coverage analysis, polling, and journalism. Study extra about KFF.
