Aneri Pattani
Lookup device by Lydia ZurawData evaluation by Henry Larweh
Christopher Julian’s opioid journey is acquainted to many Americans.
He was prescribed painkillers as a teen for a sequence of sports activities accidents. He mentioned the physician by no means warned him they might be addictive. Julian didn’t study that truth till years later, when he was reduce off and commenced struggling withdrawal signs. At that time, he began siphoning drugs from relations and shopping for them from others in his southern Maine neighborhood.
After his brother died of brain cancer in 2011, Julian used opioids to deal with greater than bodily ache.
He stole to assist his habit, cycled out and in of jail and remedy, and overdosed 10 instances, he mentioned. His mom as soon as gave him CPR on their toilet ground.
Life was “hell on Earth,” mentioned Julian, now 43 and in long-term restoration.
Like tens of 1000’s of others who’ve suffered equally, Julian filed claims for compensation from pharmaceutical corporations accused of fueling the opioid disaster.
Earlier this 12 months, he acquired his first payout: $324.58.
That’s sufficient to fill his automobile with gasoline about eight instances or pay a few tenth of the lease for an residence he shares together with his fiancee and two kids.
Meanwhile, Maine’s Cumberland County, the place Julian lives, has acquired greater than $700,000 in opioid settlement cash and expects almost $1.6 million extra within the coming years, in line with a newly up to date database from KFF Health News. Jurisdictions all through his state have acquired greater than $68 million so far, and governments nationwide have raked in upward of $10 billion, the database exhibits.
That discrepancy between people’ and governments’ compensations highlights a way of injustice felt by individuals immediately affected by the disaster who say their struggling is the rationale that governments secured these settlements.
Opioid settlements with corporations like Purdue Pharma, Walmart, and Johnson & Johnson have led to headline-grabbing multibillion-dollar payouts, however many of the windfall is flowing to state and native governments, not on to victims of the disaster.
Only a handful of corporations — people who filed for chapter, together with Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt, Endo, and Rite Aid — have put aside payouts for people. To qualify, individuals will need to have filed claims inside a sure window and supplied paperwork proving they have been prescribed painkillers from that firm. Even then, many victims will obtain only a few thousand {dollars}, attorneys and advocates estimate. Most of those corporations haven’t began paying but, so victims might need to attend months or years extra earlier than seeing the money.
In distinction, state and native governments have already acquired settlement cash. To perceive the dimensions of these payouts, KFF Health News in January downloaded knowledge from BrownGreer, the court-appointed agency administering many nationwide opioid settlements, and used it to replace a searchable database that permits customers to find out how a lot their metropolis, county, or state has acquired or expects to obtain annually.
Governments are receiving that cash as a result of attorneys basic argued that their states’ public security, well being, and social service methods have been harmed by the opioid disaster. Jurisdictions are purported to spend settlement cash on habit remedy, restoration, and prevention applications. But many affected people and households say governments have failed to stick to that mission.
“At the very minimum, they could spend these dollars right to prevent the future loss of life,” mentioned Ryan Hampton, a nationwide restoration advocate and former co-chair of a committee within the Purdue Pharma chapter case, the place he represented victims. “That is the opposite of what we’ve seen to date.”
In Pennsylvania, a gaggle of bereaved relations raised comparable issues to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who finalized opioid settlements when he was legal professional basic.
“Instead of directing funds toward evidence-based solutions, you and your administration have allowed counties to divert these resources into law enforcement, ineffective programs, and initiatives that already have other funding streams available — disrespecting both our families and the lives lost,” they wrote in a letter dated Feb. 14. “Meanwhile, bereaved families — many of whom have lost everything — have no financial relief.”
‘Governments Were Way More Powerful’
To make certain, many governments have spent millions of settlement dollars on remedy applications, restoration helps, distribution of overdose reversal medicines, and different efforts. Some officers accountable for the cash say these companies, which attain many residents, can have a higher impression than particular person payouts.
Will Simons, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania governor, mentioned in an announcement that the Shapiro administration has invested almost $90 million of settlement funds into remedy, restoration, hurt discount, and prevention initiatives, together with prevention programs for teens, a drug and alcohol call center, and loan repayment programs geared toward retaining employees within the habit remedy and restoration subject.
Many of the awarded organizations “support families who have lost loved ones to this crisis, providing counseling and other family supports,” Simons mentioned.
Just a few jurisdictions have created pretty modest funds directed at people, akin to one in Boston to assist households who’ve misplaced family members to habit, and a fund in Alabama for grandparents having to boost kids due to parental substance use.
But nationwide, there’s little that resembles the widespread money funds that many advocates, like Hampton, initially envisioned.
In the mid-2010s, Hampton mentioned, he and different advocates thought-about submitting class motion lawsuits towards pharmaceutical corporations however realized they didn’t have the sources.
Just a few years later, when state attorneys basic started pursuing circumstances towards these corporations, victims have been thrilled, pondering they’d lastly get compensation alongside their governments. Hampton and different advocates held rallies, shared their tales publicly, and galvanized assist for the states’ lawsuits.
In 2019, when Hampton turned co-chair of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in Purdue Pharma’s chapter and arrived on the negotiating desk with state attorneys basic and different entities, he thought “everybody was there to take on the big bad pharmaceutical company and to put victims’ interests first,” he mentioned. But because the negotiation proceeded amongst numerous collectors vying for the corporate’s property, he mentioned, “governments were way more powerful than victims and believed that they were more harmed than victims in terms of cost.”
Details of the Purdue settlement are nonetheless being finalized, and funds are unlikely to begin till subsequent 12 months, however estimates suggest state and native governments will obtain the lion’s share, whereas greater than 100,000 victims will cut up a fraction of the chapter payout.
Mallinckrodt, a producer of generic opioids, is the one firm that had begun paying victims as of early 2025, mentioned Frank Younes, a associate on the Nebraska-based legislation agency High & Younes, which is representing private damage claimants in a number of opioid bankruptcies.
After paying roughly 25% in administrative charges to the nationwide belief overseeing the chapter and a further 40% in legal professional charges, a few of his shoppers have acquired between $400 and $700, Younes mentioned.
He expects payouts from two different corporations — Endo and Rite Aid — “will be even lower.”
But many victims received’t obtain something. Some didn’t know they may file claims till it was too late. Others struggled to acquire medical data from shuttered docs’ workplaces or pharmacies that didn’t retain older paperwork.
Out of almost 20,000 individuals who contacted Younes’ agency to take part within the numerous opioid bankruptcies, he mentioned, solely about 3,500 have been capable of file.
‘Do Something for These Families’
John McNerney was instructed his Purdue Pharma declare didn’t qualify, as a result of he hadn’t been prescribed sufficient OxyContin to fulfill the brink. He submitted claims for Mallinckrodt and Endo as an alternative.
McNerney, 60, who lives in Boca Raton, Florida, mentioned he suffered a spinal damage many years in the past from a fall throughout a plumbing restore. For years afterward, he was prescribed numerous painkillers. Once his docs reduce him off, he started utilizing drugs a buddy purchased off the road. McNerney spent about $30,000 on rehabs earlier than he entered long-term restoration.
Now when he sees governments spending settlement cash on police cars or library books about addiction “instead of putting 100% of it into rehab,” he mentioned, “it really bothers the heck out of me.”
“I haven’t received a nickel,” he mentioned.
In Ohio, a gaggle of affected households have been equally annoyed that cash wasn’t reaching them or the locations the place they thought it was wanted most.
The households teamed up with local nonprofits to submit grant functions to the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, which controls many of the state’s opioid settlement funds. They requested for a number of million {dollars} to place towards household assist teams, coaching for relations who soak up kids whose dad and mom have substance use issues, and emergency money help for households to purchase cribs or college provides and canopy funeral prices.
Jackie Lewis, a member of the group, mentioned that when her 34-year-old son, Shaun, died of an overdose, she needed to pay his funeral prices by bank card. She has filed a declare within the opioid bankruptcies however hasn’t acquired any cash but.
“Too many families didn’t have a credit card to do that with,” Lewis mentioned. “There are families I’ve talked to that couldn’t do flowers. Some had to do a cremation instead of a traditional funeral.”
Her group didn’t obtain funding within the first round of grants from the OneOhio Recovery Foundation.
Connie Luck, a spokesperson for the inspiration, mentioned the authorized paperwork that established the inspiration don’t permit direct funds to people affected by the disaster. The basis has awarded over $45 million to 245 initiatives all through the state, together with dozens that present household assist companies like youngster care and rental help.
“We deeply empathize with those who have lost loved ones to the opioid epidemic — their pain is real, and it fuels the Foundation’s mission to end this crisis and prevent it from happening again,” Luck mentioned in an announcement.
In Maine, Julian has made peace together with his $325 payout, deciding to think about it a shock bonus reasonably than compensation for his years of struggling.
But he hopes governments will use their extra substantial sums to offer actual assist — meals and rental help for individuals in restoration and extra remedy beds so nobody has to attend six months to enter rehab as he as soon as did.
“They’re getting millions of dollars,” mentioned Julian, who has misplaced quite a few shut pals to overdose. “They could do something for these families that have suffered great losses.”
KFF Health News knowledge editor Holly Okay. Hacker contributed to this text.
Methodology
For greater than two years, KFF Health News has been tracking how state and native governments use — and misuse — billions of {dollars} in opioid settlement funds. This database marks our third replace of information exhibiting how a lot cash state and native governments have acquired via nationwide settlements with corporations that made or distributed prescription painkillers.
BrownGreer, the court-appointed agency administering many nationwide opioid settlements, tracks how a lot cash it has delivered to numerous state and native governments, in addition to how a lot is allotted to these jurisdictions for future years. It initially stored this info personal.
In 2023, KFF Health News negotiated to acquire that info and made it public for the primary time. Five months later, BrownGreer started posting up to date variations of the knowledge on a public website.
Last 12 months, KFF Health News downloaded BrownGreer’s knowledge on payouts from pharmaceutical distributors AmerisourceBergen (now known as Cencora), Cardinal Health, and McKesson, in addition to opioid producer Janssen (now often called Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine), and used the state-by-state spreadsheets with separate entries for every settling firm to create a searchable database.
This 12 months, KFF Health News has up to date that database with new knowledge from BrownGreer, together with payouts from opioid producers Allergan and Teva, in addition to CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart pharmacies.
KFF Health News downloaded knowledge from BrownGreer’s web site between Jan. 20 and 24, 2025, regarding payouts from all corporations. Users can use the database to find out the full greenback quantity their metropolis, county, or state has acquired or expects to obtain annually.
Although that is essentially the most complete knowledge accessible at a nationwide scale, it gives only a snapshot of all opioid settlement payouts. Other settlements, together with with OxyContin producer Purdue Pharma, are still pending. This knowledge doesn’t mirror further settlements that some state and native governments have entered into past the nationwide offers, such because the settlement between Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio and regional grocery store chain Meijer. As such, this database undercounts the quantity of opioid settlement cash most locations have acquired and can obtain.
Payment particulars for some states will not be accessible, as a result of these states weren’t part of national settlement agreements, had distinctive settlement phrases, or opted to not have their funds distributed through BrownGreer. Just a few examples:
• West Virginia declined to hitch a number of nationwide settlements and as an alternative reached particular person settlements with many of those corporations.• Texas and Nevada have been paid in full by Janssen outdoors the nationwide settlement, so their payout knowledge displays funds solely from different corporations with which they entered nationwide settlements.• Florida, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, amongst others, opted to obtain a lump-sum fee through BrownGreer then distribute the cash to localities themselves.
BrownGreer exhibits that a number of states acquired a few of their anticipated 2027 fee from the distributors (AmerisourceBergen — now known as Cencora — Cardinal Health, and McKesson) early in 2024. However, for 3 states — Colorado, Michigan, and Washington — BrownGreer doesn’t present knowledge on how a lot of this prepayment went to every locality. As such, locality funds in these states could also be undercounted for 2024 and overcounted for 2027.
For Oregon, BrownGreer exhibits 2024 funds from Walmart as totally paid in its statewide knowledge however lists some August 2024 funds for localities as “projected.” Since the information was downloaded properly previous that August 2024 date, now we have included these “projected” quantities within the 2024 paid whole for Oregon localities. No different states had this discrepancy.
