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AG HEALEY, STATE AND LOCAL LEADERS CELEBRATE $525 MILLION IN FUNDING TO ABATE OPIOID CRISIS IN MASSACHUSETTS

AG Joins Mayors, Health Care Leaders, and Families to Announce Incoming Resources for Prevention, Harm Reduction, Treatment, and Recovery Services; Funding a Result of AG’s Nationwide Settlement with Opioid Distributors and Johnson & Johnson 

AG Maura Healey and mayors celebrate $525M funding received to address opioid crisis.
(Photo by Chutze Chou)

            BOSTON – Following her office’s announcement of a $26 billion resolution with the nation’s largest drug distributors, Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, and Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured and marketed opioids, Attorney General Maura Healey today joined with mayors, municipal and health care leaders from across the state, and families harmed by the opioid epidemic to celebrate $525 million in funds that have been secured for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery programs throughout Massachusetts.

AG Maura Healey announces $525M funding received to abate opioid crisis.
(Photo by Chutze Chou)

            As part of the resolution, first announced in July 2021

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu talks about Mass & Cass. (Photoh by Chutze Chou)

, municipalities across the country were eligible to sign-on to receive settlement funds to abate the crisis in their communities. Today, AG Healey announced that, because of widespread support from cities and towns, Massachusetts will receive the maximum amount under the settlements. In addition, as the result of an agreement secured by the AG’s Office, all of funds will go toward abatement resources for communities and families to address the devastating impact of the opioid crisis throughout the state.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu reached out to Quincy Mayor Tom Koch. (Photo by Chutze Chou)

“Massachusetts led the nation in taking on the opioid industry, and we will lead the nation in delivering prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery,” said AG Healey. “Cities and towns across our state worked together to secure more than half a billion dollars, and we are committed to using every dollar to provide the services that families need.”

Under the terms of the settlements, more than $525 million will be coming into Massachusetts over the next 18 years starting this spring. Of that, more than $210 million will be distributed directly to Massachusetts municipalities, and more than $310 million will go into the statewide Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund to ensure that funds are spent on harm reduction, treatment, and prevention.

These settlements are the result of an investigation that found that three major opioid distributors shipped thousands of suspicious orders without regard for their legitimacy, and that Johnson & Johnson misled patients and doctors about their addictive nature.

The first two annual payments due under the settlements are expected to flow into the state this spring and summer. From 2023 through 2038, the payments are expected annually, in July.

For more information on the statewide opioid settlements, visit the AG’s FAQ here. This matter was handled by Senior Enforcement Counsel Gillian Feiner, Assistant Attorney General Sandy Alexander, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Lashof-Sullivan, Paralegal Philipp Nowak and Assistant Attorney General Mary Freeley, Deputy Chief of the AG’s Health Care and Fair Competition Bureau.

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Statements of support

State Senator John F. Keenan:

“I want to thank the Attorney General for her commitment to holding accountable those responsible for pushing strong, addictive painkillers into our communities. No amount of money will ever bring back the lives we have lost or fully ease the suffering so many have endured, but today we recognize an opportunity to heal and to help those across our Commonwealth still struggling with addiction. We are now in a position to better aid them along their paths to recovery, and to help prevent our family members, friends, and neighbors from having to deal with substance use disorder.”

Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove:

“Amesbury is no stranger to the opioid crisis, with nearly a dozen deaths in the last year due to opioid drugs. It has impacted our families and our neighborhoods, from how people care for their physical and mental health to how our teachers support and provide for our students in classrooms. I’m grateful for the work of Attorney General Healey and her team to reach this settlement deal and ensure that funding makes its way into our communities. It will allow us to directly support and positively impact residents who need it and create proactive programming to ease the opioid crisis.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu:

“Our administration will be working closely with public health experts and the recovery community to ensure every dollar of this funding delivers impact. As we continue to make progress on the intertwined issues of homelessness, mental health, and the opiate crisis, these resources will help broaden our reach.”

Fitchburg Mayor Stephen L. DiNatale:

“The City of Fitchburg has felt the impact of the nationwide opioid crisis, as many communities have throughout the country. We thank the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office for their efforts in helping to boost our goal aimed at reversing this crisis.”

Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson:

“The opioid epidemic has ravaged our Commonwealth and has impacted so many in our communities from all demographics, regions, and age groups. I want to thank Attorney General Healey and her team for holding those who got us to this point accountable and for their continued efforts to assist those struggling with the disease of addiction.”

Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn:

“The opioid crisis has caused immense financial and emotional pain for countless families throughout the Commonwealth. The funds that Attorney General Healey was able to secure will have a tremendous impact on all those affected by the opioid epidemic and provide critical resources and tools to help aid in their recovery.”

Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur:
“I’m beyond grateful to Attorney General Healey for her steadfast leadership in combatting the opioid epidemic. From the very beginning of the investigation, it has been an honor to work with her office and my fellow Mayors in our effort to further substance abuse prevention in the state of Massachusetts. I look forward to the future progress we will be able to make with this funding.”

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll:

“Working in collaboration with our colleagues in other cities and towns, as well partners at the state level like Attorney General Healey, we will hold these corporations accountable for the harm they have caused to our families and our community. Salem will leverage this settlement to expand and strengthen our existing public health efforts targeting the opioid epidemic. These resources will enable us to invest more in overdose prevention and treatment, public education, and other initiatives aimed at reducing addiction to opioids and caring for those who are suffering from this crisis. We will continue working to hold accountable those companies responsible for profiting off of and furthering the opioids crisis in the community.”

Cheryl Juaire, Founder of Team Sharing:

“Team Sharing, which is a nation-wide non-profit organization that provides support for families who have lost loved ones to opioid abuse, is very pleased that opioid defendants like the distributors and Johnson & Johnson are starting to pay for their inappropriate behavior. While no amount of money will ever be enough to clean up what has happened, and there is no dollar figure that will make up for the loss of a loved one, we appreciate the diligent and tireless efforts of Attorney General Maura Healey and her office to hold wrongdoers accountable by providing substantial funds to compensate personal injury victims and abate the opioid crisis. It is our sincere hope that a significant amount of the money received by our state will be distributed to on-the-ground services, such as harm reduction centers and recovery support organizations. We stand today with Attorney General Healey in our continuing efforts to do whatever we can against the worst man-made epidemic of our lifetime.”

Maryanne Frangules, Executive Director of MOAR:

“We know that no amount of money can take away the pain of suffering the unnecessary loss of a loved one to this tragedy. ‘Medicine’ is supposed to help, not be the cause of death. We wholeheartedly honor Attorney General Maura Healey and her team for persistence of justice for all who have suffered.”

Dr. Charles Anderson, President and CEO of the Dimock Center

“At the Dimock Center we operate a full continuum of care from detox to residential recovery and outpatient assisted treatment for those battling Opioid Use Disorder. The funding of recovery services from this settlement is a critical part of the scaffolding required to restore hope for the many families whose lives have been destroyed by this epidemic.”