Supervisors approve opiod ligitation settlement

Holt County Supervisors approved two agreements of an opioid ligitation settlement during the board’s Oct. 29 meeting in O’Neill.

But how much the county will receive and when the payout will arrive wasn’t immediately clear.

According to board chairman Bill Tielke, Holt County Attorney Brent Kelly suggested the county support the ligitation, which started in 2016.

At that time, Nebraska joined a compact with a dozen other states, suing pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergan, as well as Johnson & Johnson, for manufacturing and marketing of prescription opioids.

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson announced July 22 that the three distributors will pay up to $21 billion over 18 years.

Johnson & Johnson will be required to pay up to $5 billion over nine years, with a minimum of up to $4.7 billion to be paid during the first three years.

Funds from the settlement are to be spent on opioid treatment and prevention.

The share for each state will be determined by a formula that accounts for the impact of the crisis on the state, number of overdose deaths, amount of residents with a substance use disorder and the number of opioids prescribed within the state.

Nebraska’s statewide population will also be calculated into the formula.

A second lawsuit, against Purdue Pharma, the largest manufacturer of prescription opioids has also been filed.

The company is currently in bankruptcy proceedings.

Cathy Pavel, Holt County clerk, said a timeline has not been established for distribution of the settlement.

Three options for the settlement were given to supervisors, including sign on to the two agreements, with funds going to the county; sign on to the agreements and contribute the county’s direct share to the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Fund within the county’s behavioral health region; or not sign on to the agreements and forego the county’s share.

Supervisor Doug Frahm made a motion to accept the settlement, with the understanding supervisors will determine how to use funds after its been received.

The motion carried, 5-0. Supervisor Dustin Breiner was absent.

In addition to Nebraska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas were part of the litigation.