CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to sign on for the second wave of national opioid settlements.
This second wave of settlements comes from national lawsuits against major pharmaceutical companies CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Allergan and Teva for their part in the nationwide opioid epidemic.
Pennsylvania is among the states eligible to sign on, Commissioner Chairman John A. Sobel explained, and so sign-on agreements have gone out to local governments.
Sign-on must occur by April 18.
Thereafter states have until May 2 to sign on and the defendant companies have until May 18 to determine their participation.
All three parties must agree to the settlement for it to be effectuated, Sobel said, noting terms closely mirror the first settlement agreement.
Seventy percent of funds will be allocated to county governments and 15 percent to the commonwealth. An additional 15 percent will go to litigating counties, including Clearfield, Sobel said.
The county stands to receive a base pay of $761,000, and if incentive payments are also done, it could receive $1.7 million.
Payments would vary from defendant to defendant. For example, Walmart would pay out over a six-year timeframe and Walgreens over a period of 15 years.
Despite valiant efforts by local law enforcement, Sobel said the county’s drug problem hasn’t gotten any better, and it’s time for a multi-faceted approach.
While those who “bring the poison” into the area should receive lengthy prison terms, Sobel said incarceration isn’t an effective cure for users.
Instead, he hopes to use the funds for establishment of a drug court so the county can help drug users break the cycle of addiction.
The first settlement was part of a nationwide agreement in 2021 with Cardinal Health, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Johnson & Johnson.
The agreement required the settling defendants to pay up to $1 billion over 18 years to resolve Pennsylvania claims, including $2.58 million to Clearfield County, according to a previous report.
