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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 5, 2023
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Michigan Municipalities Still Able to Participate in Opioid Settlement as Deadline Extended to May 9
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LANSING – The deadline to register to receive funds from the multibillion-dollar Opioid settlement with Teva Pharmaceuticals, Allergan Pharmaceuticals, CVS Pharmacy, and Walmart Pharmacy, which would have been May 2, has been extended to give additional time to subdivisions nationwide that have not yet joined. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel continues to encourage municipalities to complete their participation forms by the deadline.
Municipalities that submit forms by the cut-off date, now May 9, could be eligible to receive direct payments from the more than $446 million that will be allocated to Michigan over the next 13 years.
Nessel signed Michigan onto the proposed multibillion-dollar national settlements with Teva Pharmaceuticals, Allergan Pharmaceuticals, CVS Pharmacy, and Walmart Pharmacy in December 2022. The settlements were the result of efforts to hold those companies responsible for their roles in the opioid epidemic that has so deeply impacted some communities in this state.
At the time of the first extension, Nessel stated, “Opioids have had devastating effects on many Michigan communities. The companies that make and distribute them should bear some of the burden of combatting the damage these drugs have left in their wake.” She said, “Though the money will not bring back loved ones or ease the pain suffered by thousands of families, it will provide resources to help the impacted communities recover. There is still time to register for funds and I encourage every eligible municipality to do so.”
Based on the settlement terms, there are 278 local units of government in Michigan - called subdivisions in the settlement agreement - eligible to participate. This includes each of the state’s 83 counties. Other municipalities are eligible if:
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the municipality is currently litigating against the defendants; or
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the municipality has a population of 10,000 people or more.
Eligible subdivisions that have not yet completed participation forms may email the Department for additional instructions. However, the deadline to participate and receive direct payments is May 9, 2023.
The more than $446 million that Michigan is eligible to receive over the life of the settlements is dependent, in part, on the participation of local governments. Spending priority would be placed on treatment and prevention.
Nessel has prioritized combatting the opioid epidemic since taking office in 2019. Michigan is actively working with Walgreens on a separate settlement. To date, Nessel has joined the nationwide Janssen Settlement, the McKinsey & Co. Settlement, and the distributors settlement, which includes the nation's three major pharmaceutical distributors - Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen - and Johnson & Johnson. The combined settlements will net over $795 million to Michigan governments for Opioid use disorder treatment and remediation.
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