The Minnesota Senate recently approved legislation that effectively ratifies the terms of the opioid settlement agreements that Minnesota joined in 2021. It makes a number of changes to Minnesota’s landmark opioid bill of 2019 in order to capture those settlement funds, and represents an agreement between the state, local governments, and opiate manufacturers.
“When we passed our groundbreaking opioid bill of 2019, we knew of pending litigation but were uncertain of the mechanics of how those funds would arrive in Minnesota,” said Senator Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont), a longtime advocate for victims of opioid addiction in the Senate. “This bill will guarantee that communities can receive those funds as soon as possible.”
“The opioid crisis devastated families across Minnesota,” Rosen added. “The historic settlement agreement with opiate manufacturers will never undo the damage they caused, but it will help those families and our communities recover – and, hopefully, help us avoid a crisis like that ever again. The faster we can get these resources out the door, the better it will be for everybody.”
BILL TERMS
The bill codifies a number of agreed-upon terms of the opioid settlements:
- It requires funds to be deposited directly into the opiate epidemic response fund instead of the state treasury
- It prohibits units of local government from asserting, filing, or enforcing claims that have been released as part of a statewide opioid settlement agreement
- It creates two accounts in the opiate epidemic response fund: a registration and license fee account to be collected by the board of pharmacy, and a settlement account to be used for settlement funds
- It specifies that settlement account funds will be used to: (1) provide funding to current law appropriations in the event there is not enough money in the registration and license fee account; (2) provide funding to Tribal social service projects for child protection services; and (3) be distributed as grants as specified by the Opiate Epidemic Response Advisory Council (OERAC)
BACKGROUND
In 2021, Minnesota joined nationwide settlements with opioid distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen, and manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, which resulted from more than 3,000 lawsuits against those companies for their role in the opioid crisis.
Under the terms of the settlements, the state of Minnesota, cities, and counties are set to receive more than $300 million over the next 18 years. That funding will be used for opioid supports like treatment and recovery programs and educational campaigns to raise awareness about the public health crisis. Every Minnesota county and more than 140 cities have signed onto the settlement. 75 percent of the payout will be split between Minnesota counties and cities, with the remainder going to the state of Minnesota. Funds will be divided among local governments using a formula based on federal data on opioid use disorder, overdose deaths, and opioid shipments into Minnesota.