Several Indiana Cities To Rejoin $507M Opioid Settlement

Several Indiana Cities To Rejoin $507M Opioid Settlement

Introduction

Indianapolis and several other Indiana cities that earlier opted out of the state's lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors are now ready to join the $507 million statewide opioid settlement.

The statewide settlement has been revised as per the new state law giving direct funding and flexibility to the local governments. The suburbs of Noblesville and Fishers, the capital city of the state and other cities, including Muncie and Franklin, have decided to join the settlement.

The $507 million settlement that Indiana will receive is a part of the $26 billion national opioid settlement, which would be paid by drug maker Johnson and Johnson along with opioid distributors Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen.

The distribution plan for Indiana states that the local and state governments would get a 15% share each of the funding. The state’s Family and Social Services Administration would get the remaining 70% of the settlement amount.

Many local governments were willing to pursue their own lawsuits to get more cash as a settlement but were barred by the court. State Attorney General Todd Rokita urged the cities and towns to opt back into the settlement as they might risk losing settlement funds. Even the settlement amount for Indiana dropped from $507 million to $269 million due to local governments opting out.

A new law even allows the cities to receive the latest settlement funding and pursue litigation against other opioid companies simultaneously.

The state would receive the money over the years, with possibly the payments beginning from May. The settlement amount would vary depending on the number of cities, counties and towns participating in the statewide settlement agreement. There are even two pending lawsuits from Indiana against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family.