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Sock hops and concerts: How some places spent opioid settlement cash
In 2024, local governments allocated nearly $2.7 billion from opioid settlements, with $615 million for treatment and $237 million for prevention, according to a national database.
- Last year, states and localities spent or committed nearly $2.7 billion, while KFF Health News, Johns Hopkins, and Shatterproof documented over 10,500 uses of settlement funds, with about 20% untrackable.
- As part of national settlements, more than a dozen companies that sold prescription painkillers will pay state and local governments upward of $50 billion over nearly two decades, with about 20% of funds untrackable and Exhibit E providing broad spending guidelines.
- About $615 million went to treatment programs, $279 million to overdose-reversal medications and training, $227 million to housing-related programs, and more than $237 million — about 9% — to prevention last year.
- Acting state Comptroller Kevin Walsh urged repayment, calling the concerts a `waste` and `misuse`, while Irvington township officials defended them as stigma-reducing and distributing overdose-reversal medication.
- Exhibit E's broad rules leave officials room to experiment but little clarity on timing, reporting and eligible activities, about 20% of funds are untrackable, and local leaders see the settlements as a moral obligation.
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Pennsylvania counties face tough choices on spending $2B opioid settlement funds
In Pennsylvania, local governments will decide which substance use programs to fund in their communities. Jeff Fusco/The Conversation U.S., CC BY-SAIn communities across Pennsylvania, local officials are deciding how to spend over US$2 billion dollars from the state’s opioid settlement agreements. For many, the task is proving promising yet challenging – and raises questions about how to best navigate complex local needs. Pennsylvania will recei…
Hastings Tribune+10 Reposted by 10 other sources
Sock hops and concerts: How some places spent opioid settlement cash
Officials in Irvington, New Jersey, had an idea. To raise awareness about the dangers of opioid use and addiction, the township could host concerts with popular R&B artists like Q Parker and Musiq Soulchild. It spent more than $600,000 in…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources12
Leaning Left1Leaning Right1Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution82% Center
Bias Distribution
- 82% of the sources are Center
82% Center
C 82%
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