Ohio would get $830 million from multibillion dollar deal with opiate makers and distributors, source says
Ohio and other states are on the verge of a landmark settlement with drug makers and distributors that would bring billions of dollars to opioid treatment and prevention programs, sources close to the talks say.
Sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations, said the national settlement is expected to be about $26 billion. Ohio's share would be roughly $830 million, one source said.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and other state attorneys general issued a statement this week saying they've been working for years to force companies to pay to help combat the opioid epidemic.
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"Our negotiations are progressing well and potentially nearing their completion. We look forward to bringing much-needed dollars home to our states to help people recover from opioid addiction and to fundamentally change the opioid manufacturing and distributing industries so this never happens again," the joint statement said.
In March 2020, Yost and Gov. Mike DeWine announced that local governments had signed off on a plan on how opioid settlement money would be divvied up. The OneOhio agreement calls for 30% of the money being earmarked for community recovery programs at the local level, 55% for a statewide foundation and 15% to the state.
In February 2018, when DeWine was attorney general, Ohio sued four opioid distributors, alleging they failed to protect against drug diversion. In May 2018, Ohio sued five drug manufacturers that made and sold opiates. The lawsuits aim to bring accountability and pressure the companies to agree to a national settlement deal.
The potential settlement comes as Americans continue to struggle with opioid addiction, overdoses and death.
The CDC reported that U.S. overdose deaths increased by 29.4% in 2020, reaching 93,000, the highest annual number ever recorded. The estimate of over 93,000 deaths translates to an average of more than 250 deaths each day, or roughly 11 every hour. Ohio's overdose death rate rose 29.1% in 2020 over 2019.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.