How The Opioid Settlement Could Truly Help The Addicted

Last month, attorneys proposed an ambitious and creative — but fundamentally flawed -- plan to settle the nearly 2,000 lawsuits brought by local government-related and tribal victims of the opioid crisis. While the millions of people who are plaintiffs would individually benefit, the proposal does not provide for the coordinated public health response that may be the only way to end the opioid crisis.

The plaintiffs are seeking to recover tens of billions of dollars they've spent on people who have become addicted to opioids or overdosed on the drugs. These costs include enhancing police response and emergency medical services to administer naloxone, the expensive overdose reversal medication. Patients suffering from opioid use disorder often need expensive addiction treatment that may include prescription medication such as methadone or Suboxone. The criminal justice system has borne the significant cost of handling opioid-related charges.

Similar lawsuits, filed by every state, are also pending in state courts. The defendants include the pharmaceutical companies that make and market opioid pain medication, such as Purdue Pharma, as well as the companies that distribute and dispense these medications.