Ohio could get $1B from multibillion dollar deal with opiate maker and three distributors
Laura A. Bischoff
Ohio and other states reached a $26 billion settlement with the three largest drug distributors as well as manufacturer Johnson & Johnson that is expected surge cash into opioid treatment and prevention programs.
Ohio's cut of the cash could hit $1.03 billion if local jurisdictions sign onto the agreement, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office.
The agreement comes after nearly four years of negotiations.
“This isn’t an antidote for this devastating crisis that killed so many, but the financial resources will provide for significant recovery in Ohio,” said Yost in a written statement on Wednesday. “The funds are necessary for the healing process that our communities desperately need, and the guardrails these companies are now required to implement will help make sure that these companies will provide a brake in the system, so that those individuals who need medication can receive it without flooding our communities.”
Yost and other state attorneys general said they've been working for years to force companies to pay to help combat the opioid epidemic.
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Under the settlement, J&J will pay up to $5 billion over nine years and the three distributors — McKesson Corp., AmerisourceBergen and Ohio-based Cardinal Health Inc. — will collectively pay up to $21 billion over 17 years.
Law firms involved in the case are expected to be paid slightly more than $2 billion in fees and expenses, attorneys general said.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said it marks the second largest cash settlement in American history, second only to the national settlement with Big Tobacco. More than 40 states are expected to sign off on the deal, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said in a press conference on Wednesday.
Beyond the money, the distributors agreed to establish a centralized tracking system to detect, block and report suspicious opioid orders and share data with state regulators.
J&J agreed to stop selling opioids, cease lobbying activities related to opioids and stop funding grants that help promote opioids. Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals sold Duragesic and Nucynta.
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.
Yost said negotiations with drug manufacturers continue.
The 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.