Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
Previous Post: Open thread
Next Post: Giannoulias campaign proposes “Skip the Line” reservation program
Posted in:
* Reuters…
Drug maker Johnson & Johnson and three opioid distributors have agreed to pay $26 billion to settle thousands of government lawsuits blaming them for helping create a public-health crisis tied to their mishandling of the painkillers.
The deal—years in the making—calls for McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. to pay almost $21 billion to resolve allegations they turned a blind eye to suspiciously large opioid shipments, the companies and state attorneys general said Wednesday. J&J will pay $5 billion to settle claims it illegally marketed opioid medicines, which it stopped making last year.
The settlement marks a major step forward in litigation over the highly addictive drugs, which have been blamed on more than 500,000 deaths over two decades. States, cities and counties filed more than 3,000 suits against drug makers, distributors and pharmacies seeking compensation for billions spent battling the U.S. opioid epidemic.
The state of Illinois will be signing on to the settlement, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement today. If the agreement is finalized and there is full participation by all local governments, Illinois will get approximately $790 million, the statement says. The substantial majority of the money is to be spent on opioid treatment and prevention.
* From Attorney General Raoul’s office…
The agreement would resolve the claims of states and local governments across the country, including the nearly 4,000 that have filed lawsuits in federal and state courts. Following today’s agreement, states have 30 days to sign onto the deal, and local governments in the participating states will have up to 150 days to join to secure a critical mass of participating states and local governments. States and their local governments will receive maximum payments if each state and its local governments join together in support of the agreement.
The state of Illinois will be signing on to the settlement, making local governments eligible to participate. If the agreement is finalized nationwide, Illinois – if there is full participation by all local governments – will receive approximately $790 million.
Funding Overview:
• The three distributors collectively will pay up to $21 billion over 18 years.
• Johnson & Johnson will pay up to $5 billion over nine years with up to $3.7 billion paid during the first three years.
• The total funding distributed will be determined by the overall degree of participation by both litigating and non-litigating state and local governments.
• The substantial majority of the money is to be spent on opioid treatment and prevention.
• Each state’s share of the funding has been determined by agreement among the states using a formula that takes into account the impact of the crisis on the state – the number of overdose deaths, the number of residents with substance use disorder, and the number of opioids prescribed – and the population of the state.Injunctive Relief Overview:
• The 10-year agreement will result in court orders requiring Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen to:
o Establish a centralized independent clearinghouse to provide all three distributors and state regulators with aggregated data and analytics about where drugs are going and how often, eliminating blind spots in the current systems used by distributors.
o Use data-driven systems to detect suspicious opioid orders from customer pharmacies.
o Terminate customer pharmacies’ ability to receive shipments, and report those companies to state regulators, when they show certain signs of diversion.
o Prohibit shipping of and report suspicious opioid orders.
o Prohibit sales staff from influencing decisions related to identifying suspicious opioid orders.
o Require senior corporate officials to engage in regular oversight of anti-diversion efforts.• The 10-year agreement will result in court orders requiring Johnson & Johnson to:
o Stop selling opioids.
o Not fund or provide grants to third parties for promoting opioids.
o Not lobby on activities related to opioids.
o Share clinical trial data under the Yale University Open Data Access Project.This settlement is a result of investigations by state attorneys general into whether the three distributors unlawfully failed to refuse to ship opioids to pharmacies that submitted suspicious drug orders, and engaged in deceptive and unfair conduct in violation of state law. Raoul and the attorneys general also investigated whether Johnson & Johnson marketed its opioid products in a deceptive and unfair manner and engaged in other fraudulent and unfair conduct in the sale of opioids.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 8:32 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: Open thread
Next Post: Giannoulias campaign proposes “Skip the Line” reservation program
WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.
powered by WordPress.
That’s real money! Throw it all at unfunded pension liabilities, please.
Comment by phocion Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 9:13 am
===unfunded pension liabilities===
It has to go for treatment programs.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 9:17 am
When the tobacco settlement came in, Dems said it should go to health care but Pate insisted it was a reimbursement for state spending and could be used for anything. Maybe this settlement is structured differently?
Comment by Socially DIstant watcher Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 9:42 am
Good totally necessary. The opioid epidemic has been a scourge on this country. Pharmaceutical companies made hundreds of billions. 26 doesn’t seem like enough.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 9:53 am
The lawyers might want to the say the fire is out but the house is still burning down.
==Drug overdose deaths in the United States rose 29.4% in 2020 to an estimated 93,331, including 69,710 involving opioids, according to preliminary data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention==
Comment by Cool Papa Bell Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 10:00 am
- 26 doesn’t seem like enough. -
Not even close, and those directly responsible get to keep their fortunes and their freedom.
Meanwhile people are still in prison for selling weed. A total disgrace.
Comment by Excitable Boy Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 10:36 am
26 billion is simply the cost of doing “business”…representing a small fraction of pocketed profits…What a deal, eh?
Comment by Dotnonymous Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 12:07 pm
It’s kinda like a bank robber stealing a hundred grand then offering to pay back a few hundred bucks…to make everything groovy again?
Comment by Dotnonymous Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 12:11 pm
I’m skeptical after the tobacco settlement money got spent on anything but. This time the guardrails need to be more stringent.
Comment by Give Us Barabbas Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 12:12 pm
New York Times reports: “ Most states are likely to work up their own disbursement plans with their local governments. Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, Florida and others have already brokered internal formulas. Last month, the New York legislature passed bills to ensure that all funds from the opioid litigation settlement would go into a “locked box,” to be used only to address the crisis.”
There was a similar bill in Illinois which the AG squashed. This money must go to treatment.
Comment by Jepaco Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 12:14 pm
Use the money to intercept fentanyl which is pouring in to the country. Many overdose deaths occur when people take counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl.
Comment by DuPage Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 12:21 pm
Use the money to supplement low reimbursement rates from medicaid and private health insurers to lengthen stays at rehab facilities.
Comment by Chicagonk Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 1:09 pm
How much of the attorney fees went to Vrdolyak?
Comment by DuPage Saint Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 1:09 pm
- Socially DIstant watcher - Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 9:42 am:
- Give Us Barabbas - Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 12:12 pm:
- Jepaco - Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 12:14 pm:
Please read, from the Reuters article or from the press release, “the substantial majority of the money is to be spent on opioid treatment and prevention.” It’s in the proposed settlement.
Comment by Shield Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 2:24 pm
While it is better than nothing, $790 million does seem far too low. CDC researchers have found that the combined cost of opioid use disorder and fatal opioid overdoses was $41.6 billion in Illinois in *2017 alone* (of which, $25.4 billion was attributed to opioid overdose deaths).
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7015a1.htm#contribAff
Comment by Frank Manzo IV Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 3:49 pm
God forbid these multi billionaires be prosecuted and do time in prison. Is it possible that some of these drug executives lied to a Grand Jury?
Comment by Frumpy White Guy Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 5:18 pm
I hope some of the money will be used to rehab drug addicts in prison.
Comment by Mama Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 8:32 pm
I didn’t see anything in the article, but how much of that money is going to the lawyers? Maybe they could donate some of their pieces of the pie to the opioid prevention programs.
Comment by EssentialStateEmployeeFromChatham Thursday, Jul 22, 21 @ 9:07 pm