A group of local governments have each approved the terms of a national opioid settlement agreement.
At recent meetings, Marysville, Plain City, Richwood and Union County opted in to a settlement that will provide financial relief for the effects of the opioid crisis.
Through the agreement, Marysville is eligible to receive up to $77,840, Plain City could receive as much as $20,647.65, Richwood would be in line for upward of $2,829.88 and Union County is eligible for $604,751.05.
Townships throughout the county can also opt in to the agreement, if desired.
The settlement money will be used to “prevent, treat and support recovery” from addiction and mental health conditions “that can cause major health, social and economic problems at the individual, family and/or community level,” according to documents from the state of Ohio.
The funding will be distributed as part of a $26 billion national settlement with drug maker Johnson & Johnson and three companies that distributed opioid painkillers – AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.
A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general announced the results of the litigation in July.
Gov. Mike DeWine and Attorney General Dave Yost, who participated in the settlement, launched the OneOhio plan in 2020 as a mechanism to distribute opioid litigation settlement funds to local governments. It also outlines how the funds can be used.
Local governments interested in receiving funding are required to opt-in by Friday.
Those who opt in to the program agree to suspend any individual lawsuits against the defendants.
Under the proposal, the drug distributors will pay up to $804,865,429 to the state of Ohio over 18 years.
However, the percentage of Ohio cities and counties who agree to the deal will affect how much money the state and its subdivisions will receive. About 45% of the funds are “incentive payments,” which provide higher levels for higher participation.
For that reason, if 70% or less of the local governments in Ohio agree to the terms, each municipality that opted in would receive smaller payouts.
In that case, Marysville’s payment would drop to $54,488.02; Plain City’s would be $14,453.36; Richwood’s would be $1,980.92 and Union County’s would be $423,325.74.
Regardless of the exact amount each government receives, the settlement dictates how the funding must be spent.
Of the funds going directly to participating states and subdivisions, at least 85% must be used for abatement of the opioid epidemic with 70% of proceeds restricted to funding future abatement efforts by state and local governments.
The OneOhio plan breaks down the state’s abatement plan into three main components.
They are: strategies for community recovery, which have a “hyper-local focus;” strategies for statewide innovation and recovery, including regional treatment and research and development; and strategies for sustainability, which attempt to reverse damage and prevent future epidemics.
Marysville, Plain City, Richwood and Union County officials have not yet specified how their allocations will be put to use locally.
The entities could potentially work together to address the opioid crisis on a regional level.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a record 93,331 Americans died by drug overdose in the U.S. in 2020.
In a release, Johnson & Johnson denied any wrongdoing.
As part of the settlement, the company agreed not to manufacture opioid medications. It voluntarily stopped sales of prescription opioids last year.
In a joint statement, the three drug distributors indicated they “strongly dispute the allegations in these lawsuits,” but conceded that the settlement will allow for “meaningful relief to communities across the United States.”