Opioid Settlement Resource Center

Overview

Distributors and J&J Settlements

In 2021, a $26 billion nationwide settlement was reached to resolve all Opioids litigation brought by states and local political subdivisions against the three largest pharmaceutical distributors: McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen (“Distributors”), and manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its parent company Johnson & Johnson (collectively, “J&J”).

The state of Michigan is slated to receive nearly $800 million over 18 years. Fifty percent (50%) of the settlement amount will be sent directly to county and local governments. The national agreement also requires significant industry changes that will help prevent this type of crisis from ever happening again. 

A state-subdivision agreement between the state of Michigan and local government directs how opioid settlement funds are distributed. All 83 counties in Michigan signed on to this agreement. Allocation percentages can be found on exhibit A.

Payments from the two settlements (Distributor Settlement and Janssen Settlement) will be received separately. There will also be separate notices for the two settlements and their applicable payments. BrownGreer is the national settlement distributor and is responsible for notifying local governments of their payments.

Exhibit E of the settlement provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation. Bi-annual reporting on non-opioid remediation activities is required.

The Special Circumstance Fund provides additional opioid abatement funding to address a special circumstance of the opioid epidemic that was not addressed by the original calculations for local government’s allocation percentage. Counties were eligible to apply to the Special Circumstance Fund by Oct. 28. In addition to applying to the Special Circumstance Fund, counties have the right to dispute the calculation of the payment they will receive within 21 calendar days of receiving their settlement payment notice.

Pharmacy and Manufacturer Settlements

In 2022, additional settlements with pharmacies and manufacturers were announced, including CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Allergan and Teva. Sign-on for settlements with CVS, Walmart, Allergan and Teva are completed in Michigan, but payments have not yet begun. These four settlements are expected to bring in around $450 million to Michigan. The Walgreens national settlement will bring about $175 million into the state to be divided equally between state and local governments, payments have not started. The state will also receive an additional $138 million from an additional settlement with Walgreens over 18 years. 

Exhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation. Bi-annual reporting on non-opioid remediation activities is required.

Additional information about these settlements will be shared as available. View key dates regarding pharmacy and manufacturer settlements.

The settlement with Meijer was not a national settlement and only applied to Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. In Michigan, only four counties, three cities and six townships signed-on, bringing a total of around $6 million to these subdivisions. Funds from this settlement were only directed to subdivisions and not the state.

Additional Settlements

Michigan can also expect additional funds received through companies Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt PLC and Endo, which are pursuing bankruptcy plans that include funding opioid abatement trusts. Nationally, settlements with Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt PLC and Endo are expected to total $6 billion, $1.7 billion and $19.56 million respectively.

While the settlement with Mallinckrodt PLC is expected to total $37 million in Michigan, it is unknown if all of these funds will be received. To date, $5.2 million of the funds have been dispersed to the State of Michigan and the five individual qualified block grantees (Kent, Genesee, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties). Payments are expected to take place over 8 years after the initial payment following bankruptcy. Qualified block grantees are the only local subdivisions that will receive funds directly. 70% of funds received by the State of Michigan will go be distributed to regions based on recommendations from the Michigan Opioids Task Force and 30% of funds will be used for non-regional opioid spending. Schedule A outlines allowable uses of funds. Annual financial and opioid remediation activity reporting is required. 

The state of Michigan has already received some of $19.56 million in settlement funds from McKinsey and Co., a settlement from which all funds will be paid to the state.

As of early September 2023, a settlement with Kroger will pay around to $1.2 billion to states and subdivisions nationally, as well as $36 million to Tribes, to be paid over 11 years. Additional information will be shared as available. 

Allocation Notices

• Distributor Settlement Agreement – Year 1
• Distributor Settlement Agreement – Year 2
• Distributor Settlement Agreement – Year 3
• Janssen Settlement Agreement – Year 1
• Mallinckrodt Notice of Abatement Distribution – Payment 1

Tribal Settlements

Federally recognized tribes have filed lawsuits to seek compensation as sovereign governments, separate from lawsuits filed by states, counties and cities. Settlements with the Distributors and J&J will result in approximately $503 million across the country to tribes and Alaska native health organizations. Nationally, tribes can also expect $20 million to $30 million from the Mallinckrodt settlement, to be paid over eight years and an estimated $150 million, paid over nine years from Purdue. Tribal settlements with Allergan, Teva, Walmart, CVS and Walgreens are also underway. Additional information can be found here. 

How Should Counties Spend their Settlement Funds? 

Michigan Opioid Settlement Funds Toolkit: A Guide for Local Spending

• Executive Summary
• Press Release

Templates

• Spending Plan Template (PDF) (Excel)
• PowerPoint Presentation Template (March 2023) (PDF) (PowerPoint)
• PowerPoint Presentation Template (July 2023) (PDF) (PowerPoint)
• Annual Report Template (PDF) (Word)
• Request for Proposals and Associated Budget Template (PDF) (Word) (Excel)
• Request for Proposals Scoring Template (PDF) (Excel)
• Vendor/Contractor Agreement (PDF) (Word)
• Pass-through Entity Agreement (PDF) (Word)
• Public-facing Planning Process Document (PDF) (Word)
• Overdose Awareness Day and Recovery Month Proclamation (August 31 and September) (PDF) (Word)

State of Michigan Resources

Statewide Opioid Settlement Open Meetings

• Opioids Task Force
• Opioid Advisory Commission

View the Opioid Settlement Resource Library

Explore principles and tracking, evidence-based and promising practices, local government tools, legal resources, equity resources, other toolkits and reports and additional opportunities for funding.

Highlighted Resources 

• Michigan Opioid Settlement Funds Part I: Key Agencies and Settlements
• Michigan Opioid Settlement Funds Part II: Frequently Asked Questions
• Michigan Opioid Advisory Commission 2023 Annual Report: A Planning Guide for State Policy Makers
• National Association of Counties – Opioid Solutions Center
• Opioid Settlement Tracker
• National Opioids Settlement
• Non-Opioid Remediation Use Reporting
• National Opioid Abatement Trust II
• Michigan State University – Northern Michigan Opioid Response Consortium 
• University of Michigan – Opioid Solutions
• Michigan Health and Hospital Association – Opioid Epidemic
• Reporting on Addiction

Webinars and Presentations 

• Register for our upcoming webinar – Overdose Data in Our Backyard: Resource and Collaboration for Opioid Settlement Spending
• MAC webinar on Opioids
• Presentation on Opioid Settlement (2022 Legislative Conference)

Technical Assistance for Local Governments

• Additional no-cost external technical assistance providers are listed in the technical assistance section within the Opioid Settlement Resource Library.

• Local Government Learning Community – Participation is limited to government officials from counties and municipalities – Register here

Share Your Story

Share how your county is responding to the opioid epidemic and utilizing national opioid settlement fund dollars. Send information to Amy Dolinky at dolinky@micounties.org.

MAC has been awarded funding by Bloomberg Philanthropies for purposes of advancing harm reduction advocacy programs in Michigan. MAC will partner with Public Sector Consultants and McCall Hamilton on this project. One major component of the grant is a partnership with McCall Hamilton to advocate for funding to incentivize reporting on settlement dollar spending on the local level across the state. MAC intends to release a voluntary annual survey to county governments to identify where opioid settlement funds are being used and this incentive would increase participation to ensure a broader picture of the impact of funds as well as increased public transparency through utilization of the MAC Opioid Settlement Dashboard. MAC is grateful to its partners and Bloomberg Philanthropies for this opportunity.