NY State To Formulate A Lockbox In Opioid Settlements

Introduction

Gov. Andrew Cuomo will oversee a bill that has bipartisan support, the backing of state Attorney General Letitia James and requires New York state to formulate a lockbox that will fund the future opioid drug manufacturer settlements.

Cuomo has a history of putting the settlement money in the state’s general budget fund, which would be changed as the bill is supported by the state Attorney General Letitia James.

The bill will help in accumulating funds from the settlements for recovery services like hiring counselors and generating beds in opioid addiction treatment centers. These funds would not be used to replace the existing state funding services.

Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family control Johnson & Johnson and other drug manufacturers who are accused of fuelling the opioid epidemic throughout the nation will face strong legal action from James and other attorneys general involved in the opioid litigation.

The settlements are anticipated to be worth as much as $26 billion nationally. The money will be used to restore the harm caused by the drug manufacturers that led to numerous deaths and pain.

Earlier, a similar bill was introduced by a state senator from Binghamton to help the people affected by the epidemic. The senator even said that it is a core responsibility of all federal officials to ensure that the settlement amount is efficiently reached to the community-based providers who are providing lifesaving services to deal with the epidemic.

Previously, McKinsey and Company lost an agreement to the attorney general that ordered the company to pay half a billion dollars to states. New York received $32 million from the agreement, out of which $11 million was reserved for addiction treatment services, and $21 million was deposited in the general budget fund.

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