State to get $420 million in opioid settlement

Posted at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, November 30, 2021

The Brillion News

MADISON - The state legislature's Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) unanimously approved Wisconsin’s allocation of funds from two opioid settlements, which are part of nationwide litigation totaling a historic $26 billion:

The State of Wisconsin and 87 local governments within the state have been parties to nationwide litigation against three major pharmaceutical distributors and opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson for actions that contributed to the opioid epidemic.

The JFC approved terms of these settlements pertaining to funds being allocated to Wisconsin state and local governments, which is anticipated to total $420.2 million over 18 years. 2021 Wisconsin Act 57, enacted in June, requires that 70 percent of the settlement funds go to the 87 local units of governments that are parties in the opiate litigation and 30 percent to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).