ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Attorney General Letitia James continued her statewide ‘HealNY’ tour of New York state with a stop in Albany County recently, where she announced that she will deliver up to $32 million to the Capital Region to combat the opioid epidemic.
The funds come from different settlements Attorney General James has negotiated following her March 2019 lawsuit against the various manufacturers and distributors responsible for the opioid crisis. Attorney General James’ tour will make stops in dozens of New York counties throughout the month of October, with up to $1.5 billion in funds going to counties across New York state.
“For more than 20 years, the Capital Region has seen the dangerous and deadly results of opioid addiction, but, today, we are bringing good news to the area by announcing that we will deliver up $32 million to the Capital Region to combat the opioid crisis,” said Attorney General James. “With these funds, we can heal New York and turn the tide on the opioid crisis by investing in opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery.
“While no amount of money will ever make up for all those we have lost to this lethal addiction, these funds will be vital in helping to prevent future deaths.”
The lawsuit Attorney General James filed in 2019 was, at the time, the nation’s most extensive lawsuit against the various manufacturers and distributors of opioids. These manufacturers and distributors were responsible for heavily marketing opioids to doctors, hospitals, health care systems, and others, which led to the overprescription of the drugs across New York and the rest of the nation over the last two decades. The manufacturers named in Attorney General James’ complaint included Purdue Pharma and its affiliates, as well as members of the Sackler Family (owners of Purdue) and trusts they control; Janssen Pharmaceuticals and its affiliates (including its parent company Johnson & Johnson); Mallinckrodt LLC and its affiliates; Endo Health Solutions and its affiliates; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and its affiliates; and Allergan Finance, LLC and its affiliates. The distributors named in the complaint were McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation, and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc.
Last month, a settlement with Endo was announced that has already delivered $50 million to New York State and Nassau and Suffolk counties to combat the opioid crisis and remove the opioid manufacturer from New York’s ongoing opioid trial.
Also, last month, a settlement that secured more than $4.5 billion — at least $200 million of which will be earmarked for New York — from the Sackler family and foundations that they control, ends the Sacklers’ ability to manufacture opioids ever again, and will shut down Purdue Pharma was announced.
In July, a settlement with McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen that will deliver up to $1 billion to New York state to combat the opioid epidemic was announced.
In June, a settlement that ended Johnson & Johnson’s sale of opioids nationwide and that will deliver $230 million to New York alone was announced. The deals with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen have a global value of approximately $26 billion.
The cases against Mallinckrodt and Rochester Drug Cooperative are now moving separately through U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The trial against the two remaining defendants — Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and Allergan Finance — is currently underway and continues in state court.
Pursuant to the new law establishing the opioid settlement fund, all funds collected by the state from opioid settlements or litigation victories will be allocated specifically for abatement efforts in communities devastated by the opioid epidemic and will not go towards the state’s general fund.
Every region in the state will receive millions of dollars for prevention, treatment, and recovery programs to combat the opioid crisis.
The figures listed below represent the minimum and maximum amounts each county can receive from the settlements with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health, Amerisource Bergen, and Endo. The more localities across the state that agree to the terms of these different settlements, the more each locality is eligible to receive. The figures below do not include payments from Purdue Pharma or the Sackler family, as the regional split for those payments are still being finalized. Those funds, as well as any funds from future or ongoing litigation, would be in addition to what is listed below.
Capital Region Total: $17,812,303.23 – $32,524,114.04*
• Albany County: $3,237,298.22 – $5,725,907.53**
• Columbia County: $552,101.82 – $964,528.42
• Greene County: $666,825.42 – $1,164,951.91
• Rensselaer County: $1,068,187.17 – $1,866,135.66
• Saratoga County: $1,411,643.69 – $2,466,158.27
• Schenectady County: $1,023,351.66 – $1,787,807.49
• Warren County: $514,587.63 – $898,990.69
• Washington County: $403,409.72 – $704,761.55
* In addition to sum total of counties, a regional share is also being allocated here.
** Not all funds going to the county. Also includes funds going directly to a major city within the county.
“The opioid epidemic has devasted our communities across New York state,” said State Sen. Neil Breslin. “The ‘HealNY’ tour is desperately needed, and the funding is critical for the reduction of opioid use in our state. Attorney General James has been relentless in her battle against opioid use and holding the pharmaceutical companies responsible.”
“I would like to express my gratitude for a job well done by New York Attorney General Letitia James as it relates to the agreements reached with the large multinational players that were involved in fueling the opioid and heroin crises,” said State Assemblymember John T. McDonald III. “As one of the few practicing professionals in health care that is a member of the Legislature, I am keenly aware of the practices that fueled the crisis and, as a former mayor and current legislator, I am even more familiar with the impacts this crisis has had on individuals, their families, and our communities.
“The up to $1.5 billion secured by Attorney General James will be spent wisely and appropriately in the areas of education, treatment, and recovery in accordance with legislation I sponsored to make sure there is a dedicated fund for the money secured. As much as money will not bring back the lives lost nor heal the pain suffered, I am confident that appropriate use of the funding will help prevent more deaths and pain for many families.”
“I am pleased to join Attorney General Letitia James as she visits the Hope and Healing Recovery Center in Hudson Falls,” said State Assemblymember Carrie Woerner. “The opioid crisis took a turn for the worse in our region, during the pandemic. I am grateful to the attorney general for her work in pursuing lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of these highly addictive drugs and securing the opioid settlement funds.
“As the sponsor of the legislation that created the ‘lock box’ for these funds, I worked closely with the advocates and recovery warriors who have the insights to know what programs are needed to address the challenges. The resources that will now be available to fund services for prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery will make a significant difference in the lives of people struggling with the disease of addiction.”
“I’m proud that Albany County was one of the first in the state to take on manufacturers and distributors for the damage caused by highly addictive opioids. But to have an ally in Attorney General James, who hit the ground running with the filing of a lawsuit on behalf of New York once she took office, has helped to truly hold Big Pharma accountable,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy. “We lost nearly 100 Albany County residents in 2020 alone, as COVID-19 has thrown gasoline on the overdose fire. These settlements won’t bring back our loved ones, but the actions we’ve taken will change the way these companies do business, and this funding will be used for treatment, recovery, and education programs that can help prevent future tragedies.”
“The resources obtained from these settlements will go a long way in providing care for those laboring under addiction, and I am thankful to Attorney General James for continuing this fight for communities that need it most,” said Albany County District Attorney David Soares.
“The opioid epidemic has been devastating for our communities throughout Albany County,” said Albany County Legislature Chairman Andrew Joyce. “The Albany County Legislature recognizes that in order to prevent more overdoses we need to be proactive. That’s why we’re working on legislation that would provide for the safe disposal of opioids. We need to make it harder for those who don’t need these drugs to get them, that’s the first step in tackling this epidemic. I am glad to see that these funds are going where they are needed the most.”
“I commend Attorney General James on her perseverance to hold the producers of opioids accountable for the torment caused to so many New York families and others,” said Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple. “These settlements will undoubtedly save lives through education, awareness, and recovery efforts.”
“We are honored to have New York Attorney General Letitia James visit Hope House’s Elizabeth House, a 16-bed, intensive residential program for women, located in Troy, New York,” said Kevin M, Connally, executive director, Hope House, Inc. “Attorney General James is visiting this program as part of her ‘HealNY’ tour’ where she will begin delivering up to $1.5 billion to combat the opioid epidemic. These funds have been collected from various opioid manufacturers and distributors that were responsible for the devastating opioid epidemic. We are grateful to Attorney General James for her tireless efforts to help New Yorkers battle the opioid epidemic, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly impacted those in need of quality treatment services.”
Separately, but related to her work on opioids, this past February, Attorney General James co-led a coalition of nearly every attorney general in the nation in delivering more than $573 million — more than $32 million of which was earmarked for New York state — toward opioid treatment and abatement in an agreement and consent judgment with McKinsey & Company.
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