In a national settlement of over $50 billion, companies such as CVS, Walmart, Jansenn, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and Walgreens will pay for perpetuating the opioid epidemic. Distributed by settlement administrator BrownGreer, Tennessee’s localities could get up to $490 million in settlement money.
Tennessee’s government plans to distribute the settlement money in a “three-bucket” system: 15% to the Subdivision Fund, which goes directly to counties and municipalities; 70% to the Opioid Abatement Fund, a trust fund used for remediation programs; and 15% to the state fund, which is apart of the yearly budgeting process. Tennessee has pledged to use the funds strictly for opioid remediation programs. Programs include making naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses, readily available, treatment for the incarcerated population, and clean syringe services.
Although larger cities such as Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville were paid the largest sum by the state, East Tennessee rural communities were paid more per capita. Rural counties such as Campbell, Claiborne, Hancock, Hamblen, and Union were among the highest in the state per capita for receiving settlement payments.
