State to get $800M in opioid settlement; Nessel shares own experience with prescription addiction

FOX 2 - Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on Monday the state will receive $800 million as part of an opioid settlement from three drugmakers over the next two decades.

Expected to begin next month, and be distributed over 18 years, Michigan is set to receive $800 million in opioid settlements. Paying the settlement are the three major pharmaceutical distributors – Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, along with opioid manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson.

The state attorney general said she personally understands what it means to be dope sick, and how hard it is to ween yourself off these drugs.

"I woke up feeling more sick than I  had ever been in my entire life," Nessel said. "I couldn't imagine how I got sick, because I hadn't gone anywhere, I hadn't been in contact with anybody except for my newborn babies. I popped a pill, and immediately felt better. That was when I realized - I didn't have the flu, I am addicted to this medication."

Nessel is not shying away from telling her story - one too many Americans have had to tell. They did what their doctors told them to do - and took opiod medication as prescribed.  

"I learned more than I wanted about it, when I had some significant medical issues in 2003," she said. "I got a 90-day prescription for Hydrocodone and I was told to take it every four hours. (I was) never told it could be addictive, never told I had to be careful or watch myself. I took it exactly as it was prescribed by my doctor."

Michigan is set to receive $800 million in opioid settlements starting in April of 2022 as three major pharmaceutical distributors – Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, along with opioid manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson - will pay the state millions over the next 18 years.

The Department of Attorney General’s team is working to sort through Michigan’s portion of the settlement money. Local municipalities getting resources to try to curb the crisis and provide treatment 

"(If) you need help, you need serious help - and that’s what hopefully municipalities will be able to provide with these funds," she said.

Michigan is set to receive $800 million in opioid settlements starting in April of 2022 as three major pharmaceutical distributors – Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, along with opioid manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson - will pay the state millions over the next 18 years.

This is part of a national settlement, led by the Attorney Generals of North Carolina, Tennessee, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The national settlement totals $26 billion in opioid settlements. This is the second-largest multi-state agreement in U.S. history, second only to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, in 1998.

Nessel said this has been a goal of hers since she took office three years ago.

"I took legal action once I took office to try to recoup money for the devastating impact that the opioid epidemic has had on the communities across our state," she said.

This national agreement marks the culmination of three years of negotiations, to resolve more than 4,000 claims of state and local governments across the country. The pharmaceutical defendants will start releasing funds to a national administrator on April 2nd, 2022, with the money flowing to state and local governments in the second or third quarter of 2022.

"Now working with trusted community partners, healthcare leaders, and treatment and prevention experts, we will utilize these resources to provide hope and healing to those that need it most," Macomb County Executive Mark A. Hackel said.

Nessel also serves on the Michigan Opioids Task Force. The group released its 2020 Annual Report last year, and noted opioid overdoses killed 1,768 Michiganders in 2019 – an average of almost five people every single day.

"I know that no amount of money will make whole the thousands of Michigan families impacted by opioids, but this is an important victory in a hard-fought battle," said Nessel.

If you or a loved one need opioid addiction treatment, the state of Michigan provides resources to help. SAMSHA’s (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Hotline is available 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year for treatment referrals; 1-800-662-HELP (4357), or go to the state’s website at www.michigan.gov/opioids/.