A New York County Is Set to Vote on a Multi-Million-Dollar Opioid Settlement

Having suffered through years of what has undeniably been an opioid crisis, the county may soon see its first installment of a court-ordered settlement with manufacturers and distributors of opioids, plus chain pharmacies, worth between $2.3 million to almost $4.1 million spread over 18 years, all of which must be used for opioid remediation.

A resolution to accept the settlement and drop all further claims will be voted on by the County Legislature at its Sept. 9 meeting. Acceptance of the settlement has been recommended by County Attorney Richard Mitchell and the Legislature’s Government, Courts, and Consumer Affairs Committee.

This settlement is specifically referred to as the Distributors New York Settlement Agreement and specifically targets McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health, Inc., and AmerisourceBergen Corp. and its terms are intended to parallel the wider Distributor Global Settlement Agreement currently under negotiation. According to the 215-page New York Settlement Agreement, New York intends to join the Global Settlement, which should it become effective by July 1, 2022, will supersede the terms of the New York Settlement Agreement for the most part. Its global payout could amount to $18.6 billion. New York state would receive 5.39% of that amount, equaling approximately $1 billion, plus an additional $27.5 million in restitution.