$41.8 million paid to 799 local Ohio governments so far
Harm reduction activists should ask for these funds!
Ohio’s opioid settlement has been plagued by secrecy and mismanagement. One of the hardest things to know is the most basic: How much has my local government been paid?
Pattani
Reporter Aneri Pattani of KFF Health News has broken the veil of silence — for the entire country, not just Ohio. Pattani reports today how much money nearly every government in the USA has received from opioid settlements so far. (There are many settlements.)
You can read the lists of payments made to every government in every state here. The data was provided by BrownGreer, the national administrator of the opioid settlement and the firm that send money to governments receiving payments.
Harm Reduction Ohio used this data to calculate how much opioid settlement money has been paid so far to local governments in Ohio. So far, 799 local Ohio governments — counties, cities, villages and townships — have received money. Unfortunately, Ohio’s 110 local health departments and 50 mental health boards — the local government that deal with opioid issues! — were cut out of opioid settlements. This structural error in Ohio’s agreement means the settlement money flows to governments who specialize in street paving. (The Ohio way!)
Local governments get 30% of Ohio opioid settlement money, now $50 billion to be paid over 18 years. The state of Ohio gets 15% of settlement money; the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, a secretive government-controlled non-profit, gets 55%.
This report focuses on the $41.8 million that local Ohio governments have received so far, i.e., the 30% local government share. Local harm reduction activists should ask for this money to support local projects.
Who’s paid what so far
So far, local governments have received six settlement payments — three from opioid distributors (Cardinal Health, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen), three from opioid manufacturer Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen subsidiary. Many more settlements — CVS, Walmart, PurduePharma, etc. — are on the way but payments have not started. In addition, a couple of smaller settlements have been reached and gone to the state of Ohio.
This list below shows the 30 local governments receiving the most money so far. How much governments get is determined by a complex formula that considers population, overdose deaths and several other factors.
Next week, Harm Reduction Ohio will report how much each of the 799 local governments getting money has paid directly so far. About 1,250 local governments — mostly small and rural — have declined to participate in the settlement because the cost and hassle of managing small amounts (often a couple hundreds dollars a year) was not worth the hassle. Governments who don’t participate (and governments who do but get less than $500 a year) have their money automatically redirected to their county governments.
For now, here’s a look at the 30 local governments who have received the most opioid settlement money. Finally knowing what our local governments are getting should help Ohio put this money to good use.
