A first-of-its-kind database from Spotlight PA will make it easier for the public to track how Pennsylvania counties decided to spend tens of millions of dollars from their first rounds of opioid settlement payments — and whether a powerful state oversight board ultimately approved those decisions. Pennsylvania expects to receive a large amount of money from these settlements , including up to about $1.8 billion from two waves of agreements with multiple companies, according to a recent court order.
Drug distributors, retailers, and manufacturers entered into the agreements to settle claims over their role in the opioid epidemic, which continues to kill thousands of Pennsylvanians each year. Most of the funds are going to the state’s 67 counties, and the early choices those county officials make could set a precedent for years to come. Some decisions involving law enforcement , harm reduction programs, and support for residents in a hard hit Philadelphia neighborhood have already sparked sharp debate in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust distributes the funds and reviews spending. Its 13-member board has the power to cut funding from counties if it decides they spent money in ways that don’t align with the requirements of the agreements. Two recipients, Somerset County and Philadelphia , recently filed appeals in Commonwealth Court to challenge the trust’s rejection of their spending decisions.
Those cases were pending as of Nov.
