Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Wednesday launched a new website dedicated to the opioid settlement distributions at www.michigan.gov/ag/initiatives/opioids. The new site is intended to help residents and local units of government find multiple sources of information in one place, including:
• Resources for people struggling with addiction and seeking help.
• Links to each of the settlement documents.
• An opioid settlement payment estimator, which outlines approximately how much the state, each county, and each participating municipality will receive year-by-year, by settlement, and in total.
• Links to the MDHHS site, which includes current state grants that service providers can apply for.
• Links to the Opioid Advisory Commission.
• Links to the Michigan Association of Counties Settlement Dashboard.
• A highlight feature on how the money is being used across the state, including links to local dashboards, taskforces and strategic plans.
Since taking office in 2019, Nessel has focused on combatting the opioid epidemic and holding accountable those responsible for creating and fueling the crisis, resulting in over $1.6 billion dollars to Michigan governments through settlements with McKinsey & Co, Distributors (Cardinal Health, McKesson, Inc., and AmerisourceBergen), Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical, Allergan Pharmaceutical, CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens. The money is distributed to the state and local units of government for Opioid-use disorder treatment and remediation.
“When joining the national settlements, we knew we didn’t want a repeat of the tobacco settlements – where the money went into the General Fund and wasn’t directly spent on nicotine prevention and remediation – and we also didn’t want the money to get stuck in political limbo while local communities were hurting,” said Nessel. “I committed, not only to use the resources of my department to maximize the distribution amounts Michigan received, but to also serve as a resource to ensure the money is being spent on medically proven solutions which best meet the specific needs of each community. This website is just one part of that commitment.”
Nessel has traveled the state meeting with local units of government and service providers alike, hosting roundtables to facilitate these discussions.
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) between the years 2000 and 2020, the opioid death rate in Michigan increased on average 13.9% each year. According to MDHHS, Michigan reported 2,998 overdose-related deaths in 2022.
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