Philadelphia Joins Pennsylvania’s $1 Billion Opioid Settlement
After criticizing the national opioid settlement, Philadelphia officials, along with those of every county in Pennsylvania, signed onto the deal that’s expected to deliver $1 billion to the state for drug treatment and prevention, and close out one chapter of legal wrangling over the costs of the deadly and decades-long opioid crisis.
The settlement negotiated by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and other state AGs ultimately won Philadelphia’s buy-in before a midnight deadline Wednesday, after months of pushback from Mayor Jim Kenney and District Attorney Larry Krasner, who had argued the settlement amount was too low, and its 18-year payout schedule too long, for a city among those hit hardest by the drug epidemic.
Philadelphia’s share comes to at least $186 million, according to the AG’s office. The mayor’s office said the city will receive additional funding “due to the scale of the impact and devastation that the opioid epidemic has wrought on the city and our residents.” But officials didn’t immediately say how much.
