MD AG Frosh Says First Opioid Settlement Payments will Arrive Soon
All Maryland counties and municipalities participating in settlements with the former opioids manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, and opioid distributors, McKesson, Cardinal Health and Amerisource Bergen – will begin receiving their first payments in the coming weeks. AG Brian Frosh says 58 participating subdivisions, the State and its subdivisions will receive over $60-million in 2022. Over a span of 18 years – the projected total is over $395-million. The funding will be used to address the opioid crisis throughout Maryland.
Additional information from the AG’s Press Release:
The Attorney General’s formal certification of payment amounts will set in motion a process that is expected to result in the distribution by the end of December of over $13.5 million in direct payments to subdivision abatement funds. Nearly $47 million will also be distributed to the Maryland Opioids Restitution Fund established by the Maryland General Assembly in 2019 to fund opioids abatement programs throughout Maryland. All told, nine of the State’s 23 counties are expected to receive total grants or direct payments ranging from $1.3 million to $7.8 million, while smaller counties and municipalities will collectively receive millions more. Attorney General Frosh set forth the distribution process and the certified, final payment amounts to local jurisdictions in a letter and worksheet sent to all participating subdivisions.
Frosh thanked his staff, members of the General Assembly, State and local officials, and the Maryland Association of Counties and Maryland Municipal League for their collective efforts in achieving this relief for Marylanders.
