Hundreds of Mississippians die from opioid overdoses, an epidemic that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands more nationwide. In a series of historic settlement agreements, pharmaceutical companies agreed to pay about $50 billion over 18 years for their role in fueling the crisis — and Mississippi has signed on to be part of the settlements. This story also ran on .
It can be . How the state and local governments choose to use this cash windfall in the years ahead will significantly shape Mississippi’s policies toward addiction treatment and prevention — as well as health care in general. We’ve broken down the key things you need to know about the settlements.
Mississippi has begun to receive portions of the approximately it expects from with three pharmaceutical distributors and one opioid manufacturer. The state also expects an estimated from national opioid settlements with other companies. The money is split into three buckets: 15% goes to the state government; another 15% to counties and cities, which will be distributed based on population and how heavily the crisis has affected those communities; and the remaining 70% to an opioid abatement fund that will be controlled by the state legislature.
Policymakers and local officials are starting to develop plans for how to use these dollars. The opioid agreements set out guidelines for spending, including — which consist of activities like broadening access to naloxone and medications for opioid use disorder, .