At its meeting this (Monday) morning, the Carroll County Board of Supervisors reviewed three separate settlement agreements concerning the ongoing lawsuits connected to the nation’s opioid crisis. County Attorney Curt Steger, who also serves on the county’s opioid committee, says this latest phase includes three major settlements, the most notable of which is with Perdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, for $7.4 billion.
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The other two settlements are with Sandoz Inc. for $99.5 million and eight separate manufacturers for a combined $1 million. Steger explains that only a small portion of the funds will be allocated to Carroll County directly, per an existing memorandum of understanding with the State of Iowa.
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The Perdue Pharma and Sackler family’s liabilities would be paid out over the course of 15 years, while the remaining settlements are expected to be paid all at once. Overall, Steger says the agreements appear to fall in line with the previous settlements Carroll County has participated in.
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The exact dollar amount that will come to the county is not yet clear, and it will likely take some time for those funds to become available. However, once Carroll County’s portion is received, officials will add it to the more than $300,000 already set aside for use in Carroll County to address opioid addiction, treatment, and prevention. The supervisors are expected to approve the county’s involvement in the settlement agreements next week. The Carroll County Opioid Committee has yet to award funding to local agencies and encourages potential applicants to submit their ideas as soon as possible for review and consideration. Details about the application process are included below.
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Carroll County Opioid Committee