Opioid Settlement

Several years ago, Mississippi became the first State in the country to file suit against opioid manufacturers to hold them accountable for their part in the epidemic that has cost us in lives lost, families torn apart, and public health and safety dollars spent in response.  In 2021, the State successfully negotiated a settlement with three opioid distributors, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, as well as Johnson & Johnson, a leading manufacturer.

Now, proposed nationwide settlements have been reached that would resolve opioid litigation brought by states, local political subdivisions, and special districts against two additional pharmaceutical manufacturers, Teva and Allergan; three pharmacies, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart; and the Kroger grocery chain, which operates in-store pharmacies.

Under the Settlements, these Manufacturers and Pharmacies will pay billions of dollars in an effort to abate the opioid epidemic.  The Settlements also contain injunctive relief governing opioid marketing, sale, and distribution practices and require the settling Manufacturers and Pharmacies to implement safeguards to prevent diversion of prescription opioids. Additional information can be found at: https://nationalopioidsettlement.com.

Each of the proposed settlements has two key participation steps.

First, each eligible state decides whether to participate in each settlement. Mississippi has elected to participate in all five settlements.

Second, eligible cities and counties (subdivisions) within Mississippi decide whether to participate in each Settlement. The more subdivisions that participate, the more funds flow to our State and our subdivisions. Any subdivision that does not participate cannot directly share in any of the settlement funds, even if Mississippi is settling and other participating subdivisions are sharing in settlement funds.

The Settlements require each subdivision to take affirmative steps to participate and receive funds. Each eligible subdivision in Mississippi will receive documents and instructions from the Implementation Administrator. To participate in a settlement, a subdivision must sign and return the required Participation Form for that settlement.  Your subdivision must sign a separate Participation Form for each settlement for which you are eligible.

As in previous settlements, the allocation of funds will be made consistent with the Mississippi Memorandum of Understanding executed by eligible subdivisions. Funding allocations for each of the above settlements can be found in the resources tab below.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

The Settlements require each subdivision to take affirmative steps to participate and receive funds. Each eligible subdivision in Mississippi will receive documents and instructions from the Implementation Administrator. To participate in a settlement, a subdivision must sign and return the required Participation Form for that settlement.

Please add the following email addresses to your “safe senders” list so that emails do not go to spam or junk folders: dse_na3@docusign.net and opioidparticipation@rubris.com. Please monitor your email for the Participation Forms and instructions.

If you have any questions, please direct them to OpioidSettlement@ago.ms.gov.

If you need assistance, you may also contact our office at: opioidsettlement@ago.ms.gov.