Dunn County to receive $1 million in opioid settlement with distributors over 10-15 years
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Dunn County will be participating in the lawsuit settlement with opioid distributors and is expected to receive about $1 million over 10 to 15 years.
In November of 2017, the Dunn County Board authorized the county to join thousands of other cities, towns and counties in multiple states in the litigation pertaining to the manufacture and distribution of opioids that created an opioid addiction epidemic, said Nick Lange, county corporation counsel, at the Dunn County Board’s March 15 meeting.
According to a New York Times article, drug overdoses in the United States, mostly related to opioids, killed 64,000 people in 2016 and were the leading cause of death for people under the age of 50.
The Dunn County Board accepted a settlement of $1.25 million to cover expenditures related to the opioid epidemic as part of claims against the three largest pharmaceutical manufacturers and Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary companies in December of 2021.
Proposed settlement agreements have been reached with five distributors, and the agreements have been approved by the court overseeing the lawsuit. The money must be used for the abatement of opioid addiction or abuse and must be spent on programs and services, Lange said.
The settlement agreement includes restraining orders on the defendants to limit how they promote, market, sell and distribute opioids and includes procedures on how internal compliance is conducted as well as training for pharmacists, he said.
Settlement amounts
The settlement proceeds are indexed to participation by governmental units, and under maximum participation, Teva Pharmaceuticals would pay $3.34 billion over 14 years and would provide $1.2 billion in generic NARCAN over 10 years or an additional $240 million in cash, he said.
NARCAN (Naloxone) is used for the emergency treatment of opioid overdoses or suspected overdoses and can reverse the effects of the overdose.
Allergan would pay $202 billion over seven years, CVS Pharmacies would pay $4.9 billion over 10 years, Walgreens would pay $5.52 billion over 15 years, and Walmart would pay $2.74 billion in 2023 with additional payments over the next six years, Lange said.
The amounts are estimates, but at a high level of participation, Wisconsin would receive $321.4 million, with the state receiving 30 percent of the total and the local governmental units receiving 70 percent of the total, he said.
According to information in the county board packet, the Wisconsin total of $321.4 million would have a state share of $96.4 million and a local government share of $225 million.
Allergan will pay an estimated $37.5 million to Wisconsin; CVS will pay $83.2 million; Teva will pay $63 million; Walgreens will pay $90.5 million; and Walmart will pay $47.2 million.
The allocations would be the same as the allocations for the settlement with the manufacturers so that in this settlement, Dunn County would receive a little less than $1 million over 10 to 15 years, Lange said.
According to information in the county board packet, Dunn County is expected to receive $994,524.
Of the settlement money received, Dunn County must spend 85 percent of it on programs and services to abate opioid addiction or abuse, Lange said.
Deadline
Local governmental units have until April 18 to approve participation in the settlement, otherwise the local governmental units are on their own to obtain settlements from the distributors, Lange said.
If the local governmental units do not participate, they would have 90 days to put themselves in the same place as the settlements that are currently proposed, he said.
The purpose of the resolution before the county board is to decide whether Dunn County will participate in the settlement, Lange said.
“The question is — do we want the money or not?” asked Kelly McCullough, county board supervisor from Menomonie and chair of the Dunn County Board.
“Who can turn down money?” asked Larry Bjork, county board supervisor from Menomonie.
Bjork went on to say that he has never heard any information about opioid addiction rates in Dunn County or the amount the county has spent on opioid addiction.
Percentages
What percentage is used on the litigation and what percentage goes to governmental units? Bjork asked.
The attorneys’ fees are included in the total settlement, Lange said.
Specific documentation on opioid addiction was not used to determine the settlement amounts. Instead, statistics were used to create algorithms of the cost to governmental units, he said.
Addiction and abuse of opioids creates costs for medical examiners and costs for responses by law enforcement, ambulance services and fire departments, Lange said.
Economic and medical experts have come up with reasonable estimates about the costs to local governments, he said.
The proposed settlements have been thoroughly vetted by the courts and experts engaged by the courts, Lange said.
What strings are attached to the $1 million and the 85 percent that must be spent on abatement program and services? asked Patrick Breslin, county board supervisor from Boyceville.
What happens when the money runs out? he asked.
The money “is like any one-time grant funding. When the money is gone, it’s gone,” McCullough said.
The money does not have to be spent to add employees to Dunn County. It can be used for extra NARCAN doses in sheriff’s department vehicles and to help support treatment court, Lange said.
“Correct me if I am wrong, but the attorneys fees are deducted before the money is paid to Dunn County,” said Gary Stene, county board supervisor from Colfax and vice-chair of the county board.
“Yes,” Lange replied.
Committee
Andrew Hagen, county board supervisor from Menomonie, asked if the money would go to a committee for recommendations on how to spend it.
The judge’s orders are that the money is not to be used for any purpose, but rather, that it be used for programs and services dealing with opioid addiction and abuse, Lange said.
The use of the money will be heavily regulated and there will be special auditing to ensure the money is spent properly, he said.
Michael Kneer, county board supervisor from Menomonie, said he believed Hagen was asking if there would be a special committee working on recommendations for how to spend the money.
Lange apologized and said he thought Hagen was asking if the money would go to one of the county’s already-established standing committees.
Dunn County has a number of standing committees such as planning, resources and development, the facilities committee, the highway committee and the community resources and tourism committee.
Yes — the opioid settlement money will have its own special committee, Lange said.
The Dunn County Board unanimously approved the resolution for the county to participate in the opioid settlement with distributors.
Other business
In other business, the Dunn County Board:
• Approved a rezone for WILARL Enterprises for a property on state Highway 29 west of Menomonie from General Agriculture to General Commercial. The property has been operated as a commercial use as a restaurant but was zoned for agriculture rather than commercial.
• Adopted a resolution designating the week of April 17 to 21 as work zone awareness week.
• Adopted a resolution authorizing entry into an intergovernmental cooperation agreement related to the Wisconsin Investment Series Cooperative and authorizing participation in the investment programs of the fund. School districts, technical college districts, cities, villages, counties and towns are authorized by Wisconsin state law to invest their money. State law also authorizes municipalities to contract with other municipalities for the joint exercise of any power or duty, including investment of money.
