Since the opioid epidemic began, hundreds of thousands of people have died from overdoses. Now the company accused of flooding the public with painkillers must pay the price. But as state and local governments begin to receive the first parts of the $50 billion settlement, lawmakers are increasingly interested in how the money will be spent.
According to a KFF Health News report, officials who administer the fund have been inundated with transaction requests from private, public, nonprofit and non-profit organizations.
KFF Senior Correspondent Aneri Patani talks with The Marketplace's Kimberly Adams about how the opioid settlement fund should be used, and perhaps not.
Kimberly Adams: Let's say I'm a government official distributing some of this money. What does my inbox look like now?
Aneri Patani : Many people ask you to call or make an appointment right away to tell you about their new product and how they are dealing with the opioid crisis and how to prevent or cure addiction. Save or assist life. Change the course of this epidemic. Now the state and local authorities in financial management are doing a lot of marketing work.
Adam: Not just by email. I see in your post that you advertise in newspapers and magazines for local, state and county officials.
Patani : Yes, they go wherever there is an audience. So they're trying to do everything they can to get people's attention and say, "Well, there's an opportunity." If you have this money, you can spend it on our products.
Adams: Give some examples of products you've seen promoted this way.
Patani: What caught my attention the most was a product called Bolawarap. This is a tool intended for police officers. Press a button and it creates Kevlar cables that fly through the air and wrap around the human body. And they emailed a two-page question-and-answer document to various police departments that we found through public records requests and other means about how money from the opioid law is being used to buy these products. Product. A lot of people ask, "How is this going to solve the opioid problem?" when I explain this tool to them. » And I don't think marketing is much different when the government has a lot of money. Some companies ask to include it in their products. I think sometimes people react very badly to that, especially people who have lost loved ones to the opioid crisis, because the opioid crisis was caused by corporate greed and, you know, money. And the benefits they forget from their responsibility or exposure to their product. So the idea that we got this money because of the company is very troubling. Back to business shall we?
Adams : Are there rules about how the money is used? Or at least instructions?
Patani : Yes. In most settlements - I say "most" because there are different settlements with different companies - most say that at least 85% of the money received by the government must be used for "opioid recovery", which is basically fantastic. Something related to addiction and excessive drinking. Therefore, prevention of addiction, help in treatment, recovery. Of course, there is a certain level of interpretation. And you know, there's some confusion and debate here, and it's an open question how each place interprets these guidelines for what's considered opioid therapy.
Adams: You say in your article that there is now a precedent for large tobacco colonies. What do you think we will learn about how this money is distributed and spent?
Patani: The tobacco conflict is a warning. Most of the money received from cigarette companies is not spent on tobacco control. In fact, some statistics show that 3% of annual spending is spent on smoking control or tobacco prevention. The rest is used for various things. And that doesn't mean everything is bad, but it's not necessarily what it should be. The money will be used to build new schools, open roads and give tax breaks to businesses. And in North Carolina [and] South Carolina: Subsidize tobacco producers. Many people bring up this story because they don't want something like this to happen to the opioid settlement fund. This money will be used to fight the current drug addiction crisis. In recent years, many people have died from overdoses in this country. So I think people want to make sure that the money is solving this real and pressing problem.
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