Big pharma took a much needed L in a historic case against the nationwide opioid crisis. 👎 A gigantic settlement was reached and states are set to receive…a gigantic amount of cash. 💸
PA's expected to receive a one billion dollar piece of the pie, but what happens next? How will it be spent? 🤔
Here’s Five Fast Facts on PA's opioid settlement money:
- 😤 Pharma Fiasco - All 67 counties in PA joined a national $26 billion opioid agreement with pharma giant Johnson & Johnson and three major pharmaceutical distributors (Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen). The suit was over their “role in creating and fueling the nationwide opioid crisis" but (wait for it) they didn't actually admit any wrongdoing.
- 🧾 The Breakdown - In PA, 70% of the settlement money gets funneled to counties, with each entitled to a guaranteed minimum of $1 million. An additional 15% of funding goes to local governments and the remaining 15% goes to state lawmakers.
- 🧮 Where We're At - As of late March, the state received roughly $130 million from the settlement. The majority of that money was sent to counties.
- 💡 Ya Gotta' Have a Plan - Each county has its own ideas on what to do with the cash. For example, in Lancaster County, a group suggested spending $275,000 a year on its drug task force, which helps prevent drug dealers from preying on the community. In Butler County, there's talk of spending $100,000 on a new device that the police can use to quickly identify drugs.
- 😥 No Laughing Matter - PA's well-known for having one of the country’s highest drug overdose death rates. According to the CDC, there were 5,449 fatal drug overdoses in 2021.
🔥Bottom line: Regardless of what the state winds up doing with the settlement money, let's hope it really does make a difference. We've had a rough few years and officials need to get a handle on the opioid crisis before it spirals any further. As for big pharma taking some real accountability? We won't hold our breath. 🐸☕
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