New York Attorney General Letitia James continued her statewide “HealNY” tour of New York State with a stop in Westchester County on Tuesday, Oct. 5, where she announced that she will deliver up to $94 million for the Hudson Valley to combat the opioid epidemic. The funds come from different settlements James has negotiated following her March 2019 lawsuit against the various manufacturers and distributors responsible for the opioid crisis. James’ tour will make stops in dozens of New York counties throughout the month of October, with up to $1.5 billion in funds going to counties across New York state.
“After more than two decades of having lethal opioids spread across every county of the Hudson Valley, today we are helping this community heal by announcing we will be delivering up to $94 million to invest in opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery,” said James. “These funds will help the Hudson Valley turn the tide on the opioid crisis. While no amount of money will ever make up for all the lives lost, these funds will be vital in helping to prevent future deaths.”
The lawsuit James filed in 2019 was, at the time, the nation’s most extensive lawsuit against the various manufacturers and distributors of opioids. These manufacturers and distributors were responsible for heavily marketing opioids to doctors, hospitals, health care systems, and others, which led to the over prescription of the drugs across New York and the rest of the nation over the last two decades. The manufacturers named in James’ complaint included Purdue Pharma and its affiliates, as well as members of the Sackler Family (owners of Purdue) and trusts they control; Janssen Pharmaceuticals and its affiliates (including its parent company Johnson & Johnson); Mallinckrodt LLC and its affiliates; Endo Health Solutions and its affiliates; Teva Pharmaceuticals
USA, Inc. and its affiliates; and Allergan Finance, LLC and its affiliates.
The distributors named in the complaint were McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation, and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc. “I want to thank Attorney General Tish James for fighting to secure these funds. This year, the State Senate and State Assembly, working in partnership with the attorney general, passed legislation to guarantee that these funds from opioid settlements are used for the development of new
services and support,” said state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. “We can’t bring back the tragic losses experienced by too many families in Westchester and across New York state, but we can and will seek justice.”
Last month, a settlement with Endo was announced that has already delivered $50 million to New York state and Nassau and Suffolk counties to combat
the opioid crisis and remove the opioid manufacturer from New York’s ongoing opioid trial. Also, last month, a settlement that secured more than $4.5 billion—at least $200 million of which will be earmarked for New York—from the Sackler family and foundations that they control, ends the Sacklers’ ability to manufacture opioids ever again, and will shut down Purdue Pharma.
In July, a settlement with McKesson, Cardinal Health and Amerisource Bergen that will deliver up to $1 billion to New York state to combat the opioid epidemic was announced. In June, a settlement that ended Johnson & Johnson’s sale of opioids nationwide and that will deliver $230 million to New York alone was announced. The deals with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health and Amerisource Bergen have a global value of approximately $26 billion.
The cases against Mallinckrodt and Rochester Drug Cooperative are now moving separately through U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The trial against the two remaining
defendants—Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and Allergan Finance—is currently underway and continues in state court.
Pursuant to the new law establishing the opioid settlement fund, all funds collected by the state from opioid settlements or litigation victories will be allocated
specifically for abatement efforts in communities devastated by the opioid epidemic and will not go towards the state’s general fund.
“Opioid addiction is one of the great tragedies of our time,” said state Assemblyman Steve Otis. “Settlement funds will now provide funding from the companies
that benefited from opioid sales to support programs to combat addiction, foster rehabilitation, and save lives. The work of Attorney General James and her team has made the up to $1.5 billion in funding to New York programs possible. It is appropriate that these companies contribute to fighting this plague.”
Every region in the state will receive millions of dollars for prevention, treatment and recovery programs to combat the opioid crisis. The figures listed below represent the minimum and maximum amounts each county can receive from the settlements with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health, Amerisource Bergen, and Endo.
The more localities across the state that agree to the terms of these different settlements, the more each locality is eligible to receive. The figures below do not
include payments from Purdue Pharma or the Sackler family, as the regional split for those payments are still being finalized. Those funds, as well as any
funds from future or ongoing litigation, would be in addition to what is listed below.
• Hudson Valley: $51,729,983-$94,455,606
• Westchester County: $10,678,857-$18,888,019
• Dutchess County: $3,682,781-$6,433,863
• Orange County: $4,360,832-$7,618,425
• Putnam County: $996,022-$1,740,063
• Rockland County: $2,590,593-$4,525,797
• Sullivan County: $1,587,590-$2,773,539
• Ulster County: $2,070,408-$3,617,028
“The opioid crisis has impacted every corner of our community in Westchester. Opioid manufacturers and distributors have played a major role in enabling
this nationwide epidemic, and I am grateful to Attorney General James for standing up against these companies and fighting for those affected,” said state Sen.
Alessandra Biaggi. “Thanks to the dedication and hard work of Attorney General James and her office, New York will be receiving up to $1.5 billion to
address the opioid epidemic. These funds will allow us to assist the communities that have been devastated the most by this crisis and put our state on a path
to recovery.”
State Sen. Shelley Mayer added, “The impact of opioid abuse on individuals and families is devastating. I applaud Attorney General James for holding
manufacturers and distributors accountable, and I am pleased the money from these settlements will soon begin to heal communities across New York
state, including right here at St. Vincent›s Hospital.” (Submitted)
