Beginning in 2021, a national coalition of attorneys general led by then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro reached settlements to hold prescription opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacy companies accountable for their role in contributing to the opioid addiction epidemic in the United States. The settlements have required various companies to pay approximately $50 billion to be distributed among the states over nearly 20 years.
Researchers at Penn State previously aided the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in determining how to allocate the funds. Now, the team — along with colleagues at Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh — has published a new website that provides detailed, county-level information about how the opioid settlement funds are being used in Pennsylvania. Although not created by or for the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust (“Trust”), the website displays data collected as part of Penn State’s ongoing work with the Trust, which receives, invests and distributes opioid settlement funds in accordance with the national opioid settlements.
“As attorney general, I took on the pharmaceutical companies to hold them accountable for their manufacturing of the opioid crisis – and secured over $2 billion for Pennsylvania to help local communities expand access to critical treatment, prevention and support programs that help those struggling with addiction and their families,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. “Those proceeds are having a real impact — and now, thanks to the work done by researchers at Penn State, Pennsylvanians can see exactly how our county and local governments are spending that money to support those struggling with substance use disorder. This new tool provides unprecedented transparency into how this money is being used, and in my administration, we will continue to be a national leader in standing up for those who were affected by the opioid epidemic.”
According to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, nearly 5,000 people died from drug overdoses in the state in 2023 — approximately one person every two hours.
“Penn State’s faculty members are often called upon to lend their expertise to help solve problems,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “I am proud of the work that our researchers have done to help address the devastation that the opioid epidemic has caused in so many lives across the commonwealth and to create a resource for residents to see how the settlement funds are being used to improve lives.”
Dennis Scanlon, distinguished professor of health policy and administration at Penn State and lead of the team that developed the new website, explained that due to the severity of the problem in Pennsylvania, approximately $2.2 billion was committed to the commonwealth over the lifetime of the national opioid settlements.
“Not only is Pennsylvania one of the largest states in terms of the amount of money it will receive, but the state also took a unique approach in allocating 85% of the funds to the local level, making sure it gets to both urban and rural counties and acknowledging that the need for assistance is not limited to only larger or more populous counties,” said Scanlon.
He noted that he and his Penn State colleagues published an article in 2022 in the academic journal Milbank Quarterly describing the process by which the Trust would allocate the funds within Pennsylvania.
The website shows that, so far, the Trust has distributed approximately $390 million of the opioid settlement funds. Of this amount, counties and litigating subdivisions, which receive eighty-five (85%) percent of the opioid settlement funds in Pennsylvania, have spent approximately $14 million on treatment medications for opioid use disorder, $8 million on prevention strategies and $6.5 million on recovery support.
While this dashboard does not include the 15% of opioid settlement funds distributed directly to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Shapiro Administration and the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) continue to make funding available for critical substance use disorder initiatives.
Kevin Boozel, commissioner of Butler County and a member of the board of trustees of the Trust — who credits Gov. Shapiro for his efforts to empower the counties to use the funds to address the gaps in services in their areas — explained that the website also provides detailed, county-specific information about how the settlement funds are being spent.
“Providing detailed information about how Butler County and all the other funded entities across the commonwealth are spending their allocation is essential to ensure that the residents of Pennsylvania are engaged in the process of building healthier communities,” said Boozel.
For example, the website shows that, to date, Butler County has received approximately $4.47 million, with nearly $300,000 dedicated to a new recovery center.
“The Recovery Center is critical to meeting the needs of individuals in our community who are seeking to retain a healthy, recovery-based lifestyle,” said Boozel. “It provides a social and recreational environment to assist individuals in building the skills and confidence they need to ensure their recovery remains an integral part of their lives.”
On the opposite side of the state, the website shows that the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission has spent around $800,000 to provide residents with access to the most appropriate length of treatment.
“Lack of adequate insurance, leading to a swift discharge, is recognized as the most important factor in relapse,” said Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia. “There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to treatment, and we are proud to be using these funds to help residents get the help they need for as long as we can.”
Bucks County also spent around $82,000 on public information campaigns aimed at providing residents with education about drugs and making them aware of available resources that can help.
In addition to providing transparent information to the public, Scanlon said he hopes the website will serve as a tool to help track the effectiveness of the expenditures in addressing the opioid crisis.
“The settlement funds are intended to improve public health — to help people who are already suffering and to prevent new cases of opioid addiction,” said Scanlon. “My team plans to study whether the funds lead to positive outcomes over time, such as a reduction in hospitalizations, disabilities and deaths. The new website will provide a central location to track how the funds are spent and will help in our future studies.”