Opioid Settlement Payments for Tribal Nations

McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen would pay $515 million over seven years. Johnson & Johnson would contribute $150 million over two years to federally recognized tribes. Together, the proposed opioid settlement would resolve litigation in dozens of states with tribal reservations. Documents filed Tuesday in federal court in Cleveland outlined the agreement.

The tribes claim J&J and the distributors saturated their communities with highly addictive painkillers. They allege the companies manufactured and shipped these drugs without regard for clear signs of abuse and death. However, the companies deny wrongdoing, saying they complied with federal drug laws. The funds would support addiction treatment and prevention programs.

The Companies’ Responses

Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that its “actions relating to the marketing and promotion of important prescription opioid medications were appropriate and responsible.” The drugmaker added that it no longer sells prescription opioids in the United States. Cardinal Health declined to comment. Meanwhile, the other two distributors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Other Opioid Litigation Involving Tribes

The deal comes months before the first federal opioid trial for a Native American tribe. The Cherokee Nation’s lawsuit against CVS, Walgreens and Walmart is scheduled for September in Oklahoma federal court. Additionally, a Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan under negotiation would set aside settlement money for tribes.

How the Opioid Settlement Funds Would Help

This resolution speeds up access to funds. The sprawling opioid litigation throughout the country has taken years to reach courtrooms. A panel of tribal health experts would oversee the money. Funds from this deal would support programs that aid drug users and their communities.

Tribal governments bear severe financial burdens from the opioid crisis. These include spending on health care, social services, child welfare and law enforcement resources. About 15 percent of funds will go toward attorneys’ fees.

Tribal Leaders Discuss the Impact

“American Indians have suffered the highest per capita rate of opioid overdose and are more likely than other group in the United States to die from drug-induced deaths,” Chairman Douglas Yankton of the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota said in a statement. “Given this, the dollars that will flow to Tribes under this initial settlement will help fund crucial, on-reservation, culturally appropriate opioid treatment services.”

“There is no amount of money that’s going to solve the generational issues that have been created from this,” Chairman Kristopher Klabsch Peters of the Squaxin Island Tribe in Washington state told The Post. “Our hope is that we can use these funds to help revitalize our culture and help heal our people.”

Why Tribes Negotiated Separate Agreements

Judge Dan Aaron Polster oversees the thousands of opioid cases that have consolidated in federal court. He said Tuesday that it “was necessary to have separate parallel negotiations and ultimately separate settlement agreements with the three distributors and J&J with the tribes” because the tribes are sovereign nations.

This content was originally published here.

For more information on opioid treatment and safety, explore our opioid treatment resources and facts about fentanyl.