MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – Payments from nationwide opioid settlements have started to reach our region.
On Friday, Montgomery County officials said their area has seen some of those payments.
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The money comes from nationwide settlements with three pharmaceutical distributors and an opioid manufacturer that helped to fuel the opioid epidemic, according to Montgomery officials.
Virginia and its localities are expected to receive approximately $530 million over a period of 16 years in the settlements with three drug distributors McKesson Corp., AmerisourceBergen Corp., and Cardinal Health, and a prescription opioid manufacturer, Janssen Pharmaceutical, according to Montgomery officials.
In July, Attorney General Miyares announced the initial payments, with Virginia’s 133 localities receiving $4,066,309.18 from the first payment. Percentages of each locality referred to in his announcement can be found here.
Montgomery officials said they received the first series of initial payments for $48,999.52 on July 29.
Another $48,999.52 is anticipated to reach Montgomery County this year, officials said.
According to the Montgomery County release, payments will be used to support for opioid treatment programs, education, and outreach initiatives throughout the community.
“The overall impact the opioid crisis has had on our community is profound,” said Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, Sherri Blevins. “Not only have lives been either lost or nearly ruined in many cases but also the opioid crisis has put a huge strain on our first responders, including law enforcement, as well as on our health and human services throughout the county,” said Blevins.
This is how those settlement payments will be distributed, according to the release:
- “15 percent of settlement funds will be allocated to the Commonwealth,
- 30 percent of settlement funds will be allocated to Virginia’s cities and counties, and at least half of the funds must be spent on community-based opioid abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts,
- Each locality’s allocation is based on specific local metrics, including the number of opioid-related ER visits and overdose deaths and the volume of opioid prescription drugs shipped into each locality,
- The remaining 55 percent of settlement funds will be administered by the new Opioid Abatement Authority, established in law by the 2021 Virginia General Assembly, to provide additional and ongoing support for local, regional, and state opioid abuse abatement efforts.”