National Opioid Settlement

BrownGreer serves as the Directing Administrator for the National Opioid Settlement, a group of finalized settlements totaling over $45 billion between state/local subdivision governments and various entities in the opioid pharmaceutical supply chain including: (1) the “Big Three” drug distributors – AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson; (2) drug manufacturers – Johnson & Johnson, Teva, and Allergan; and (3) pharmacy retailers – CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Kroger.

Each settlement requires 85 percent of funds, or higher, be allocated to programs that will help address the ongoing opioid crisis through treatment, education, and prevention efforts. A majority of states have passed agreements that dictate how funds will be distributed between state and local subdivision governments, ensuring funds will effectively reach impacted communities.

These settlements are the first of their kind to administer resources directly to state and local governments specifically for relief programs to help rebuild the devastation caused by the opioid epidemic. As Directing Administrator, we will allocate and distribute funds based on population adjusted for the proportionate share of the opioid epidemic impact. The share of the impact is calculated using detailed and objective national data, including the amount of opioids shipped to the state, the number of opioid-related deaths that occurred in the state and the number of people who suffer opioid use disorder in the state. 

As Directing Administrator, BrownGreer contacted all settling states, performed and verified calculations for each state, and its local subdivision governments, pursuant to the applicable calculation methodology, issued allocation notices to each state as needed, collected payment instructions from 4,920 beneficiaries, which include state and local subdivision governments, developed secure portals to serve as a system of record, and has paid out more than $9.8 billion to 4,690 beneficiaries.