January 4, 2022
Carson
City, NV– Today,
Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced that Nevada will receive almost
$285.2 million for the fight against the opioid epidemic from a multitude of
sources, including a federal grant and settlements with an opioid manufacturer
and distributors.
“The funds that
our state will receive going forward will help us save lives and mitigate the
harms done to our residents because of the ongoing opioid epidemic,” said AG Ford. “Our team has worked
diligently to get Nevada the resources we must have to help Nevadans in need in
one of the epidemic’s hardest-hit states, and to obtain justice from many
opioid manufacturers and distributors. While no settlement will bring back
those lost to opioids, these funds will be used to prevent further loss of life
and help heal Nevada’s families.”
The money will
come from three sources: a multistate settlement with the three largest opioid
distributors; an agreement with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and
its U.S.-based Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies; and a grant from the U.S.
Department of Justice to increase rural counties’ access to mitigation and
health programs.
Earlier this
year, the state, along with all Nevada counties, and cities that currently have
active litigation against opioid companies, came to an agreement on the
intrastate allocation of funds from opioid-related recoveries. This One Nevada
Agreement on
Allocation of Opioid Recoveries provides a framework for how funds from any
Nevada opioid-related settlement will be allocated among the state and various
local governmental entities and used to remediate the harms, impact and risks
caused by the opioid epidemic in the state.
In early 2021,
Gov. Sisolak signed Senate Bill 390 (S.B. 390) into law, creating the Fund for Resilient
Nevada, which directs state opioid recoveries to fund evidence-based programs
through the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. S.B. 390 requires
the state to create a State Needs Assessment which identifies the critical
needs for attacking the impacts and effects of opioids throughout the entire
state, and a State Plan for prioritizing funding for the needs identified in said
assessment. S.B. 390 also creates a mechanism for the state, counties and
cities to work together in developing county needs assessments and county plans
that complement the State Needs Assessment and State Plan, therefore maximizing
the use of the money from recoveries.
Further
information on the sources of funding are below.
Agreement with Three Largest Opioid
Distributors
Nevada will participate
in a $26 billion opioid settlement with the three largest opioid distributors –
AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson – that will bring much-needed
resources to Nevada. The Attorney General is optimistic that the Nevada local
governments through the One Nevada Agreement will join with the State in the
settlement, which will result in Nevada receiving $231,679,409 over a period of
18 years under the settlement.
“Entering into
this settlement means that Nevada will start receiving funds as early as the
first quarter of 2022 to begin funding programs to fight the opioids epidemic throughout
the entire state,” said AG Ford. “There is no question that the opioid
epidemic has devastated Nevada and money is needed now to address comprehensive
statewide remediation.”
Attorney General
Ford decided to join the multistate settlement with the three major
distributors in order to ensure what is best for Nevada and its residents. The
reasons to join in this settlement include:
due
to the severity of the opioid epidemic, money is needed now to address
comprehensive statewide remediation;
the
Purdue bankruptcy confirmation order was overturned, which means that money due
Nevada from the bankruptcy will be delayed; and
litigation
risks based upon court decisions in other states.
Moreover, the
evidence obtained through discovery demonstrates that the strongest claims in
the lawsuit remain against opioid manufacturers and pharmacies. This settlement
with the three major opioid distributors holds them accountable though a
monetary payment and strict injunctive terms for their actions in creating and
fueling the opioids epidemic.
The agreement
will require the distributors to establish a centralized independent
clearinghouse to provide regulators with aggregated data and analytics about
where opioids are going and how often; use data-driven systems to detect
suspicious opioid orders from pharmacies; and report companies to state
regulators when they show signs of diversion, among other important terms.
Johnson & Johnson Agreement
Nevada will
settle with Johnson & Johnson and its U.S.-based Janssen Pharmaceutical
Companies to resolve the companies’ role in the state’s opioid epidemic. Similar
to the agreement with the distributors, the Attorney General is optimistic that
the Nevada local governments, through the One Nevada Agreement, will join with
the State in the settlement, which will result in Nevada receiving $53,508,792,
95% of which is payable by the end of 2022. This is a much faster timeframe
than most of the settlements between other states and Johnson & Johnson,
many of which are payable over a period of nine years.
“By settling
under a separate deal, Nevada will receive the injunctive benefits that other
states received under the nationwide settlement, but also will receive the
money sooner, which has more value to help Nevada at an even quicker rate,”
said AG Ford. “We can use the money to get meaningful help to Nevadans
right now rather than a decade from now.”
In a lawsuit
filed by Office of the Attorney General, Nevada alleges that the manufacturers,
distributors, pharmacies and individuals created an ecosystem of addiction with
deadly consequences to the state and its residents for their own profit. The
claims are outlined in the second amended complaint, but the settlements with
the distributors and one manufacturer will only release claims against the three
major distributors and that manufacturer. Nevada will continue to pursue its
claims against several other opioid manufacturers and pharmacy defendants.
COSSAP Grant
Nevada has
received a $5.75 million grant from the Department of Justice for the Comprehensive Opioid,
Stimulant and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (COSSAP) grant, a
collaboration between the Nevada Office of the Attorney General, State
Department of Health and Human Services, Northern Regional Behavioral
Health Coordinator and seven subaward sites.
The
funding will be used primarily in rural and frontier Nevada to either establish
or expand the Mobile Outreach Safety Teams (MOST) and Forensic Assessment
Services Triage Teams (FASTT) in counties where the subaward sites are located.
MOST serves as a jail and hospital diversion program, while FASTT provides
assessment and case management for high-risk individuals and those with mental
health and other disorders. The funding will also be used by the counties’
community coalitions to continue naloxone distribution and drug take-back days.
“The
opioid epidemic does not end at county lines, and many rural and frontier
counties must combat this crisis with few services,” said AG Ford. “When
speaking with rural and frontier law enforcement and community leaders, I often
hear how mental health and addiction continue to wreck families and affect
public safety. I am proud that our Office obtained this grant so that we can
better support mental health services and ease the burden on the criminal
justice system across Nevada.”
This grant is designed to provide resources
to those in rural and frontier counties in the state, many of whom have limited
access to health care and mental health facilities. The subaward sites and
their county locations are as follows:
Partnership
Carson City (Carson City),
Churchill
Community Coalition (Churchill County),
Partnership
Douglas County (Douglas County),
Healthy
Communities Coalition (Lyon County),
Community
Chest, Inc. (Storey County),
Nye
Community Coalition (Nye and Lincoln Counties).
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