The Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust (the “Trust”) was established by Order of the Honorable Lori Dumas of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on July 12, 2022. The Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of thirteen members. The Trust receives funds from settlements entered into by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacy chains. The Trust distributes those settlement funds to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, counties, and subdivisions for use by those entities exclusively to abate the opioid crisis in Pennsylvania. All states accepting funds from these settlements must have a method to account for and distribute them.

 

In 2021, nationwide settlements were reached against McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen (“Distributors”) and against manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and parent company Johnson & Johnson. These settlements have been finalized, and payments have begun. Pennsylvania expects to receive up to $1.07 billion over up to 18 years from these settlements.

In 2022, nationwide agreements were announced between pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, and manufacturers Allergan and Teva. These settlements are currently pending. Pennsylvania expects to receive payments for up to 15 years from these settlements. (Amount not finalized.)

In 2022, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals emerged from bankruptcy protection and agreed to a $1.7 billion national settlement. In early 2023, Pennsylvania received an initial payment of $7 million.

 

Yes, billions and millions seem like a fortune. But honestly, think about the 67 counties in Pennsylvania, all impacted by opioids, and then think about the other 49 states, none unscarred. Then think about the impact of the addiction and overdose crisis and what it costs—prevention education in every sector of society; prevention activities like distribution of Narcan and training on how to use it; developing and implementing new training for all parts of the medical and pharmaceutical communities; overhauling and providing adequate access to treatment including medication; low-barrier housing; creating safe and effective sober housing; and on and on and on. There won’t be enough money, so we need to use it wisely. 

The settlement agreements list the acceptable uses of the money in Exhibit E. Read it here.

There is a nifty spreadsheet if you would like to see what proposals have been approved, denied, and are pending, in Philadelphia – click here.

OR if you want to READ ALL ABOUT IT: https://paopioidtrust.org

There are regular meetings of the trust and you can sign up for updates if you like. I’ll also be providing updates on this project.