Local counties mull uses for opioid settlement funds

May 2—Area counties started receiving money from the $26 billion national opioid settlement and must decide how to best spend it, with more funds on the way.

Seven counties in the region expect to receive $46 million over the next 18 years from settlements reached with manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals and three pharmaceutical distributors, McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, according to the state attorney general's office.

Luzerne County will get the lion's share, $22.8 million, followed by Lackawanna County, $9.7 million, and Schuylkill County, $6.8 million, while Pike, Wayne, Wyoming and Susquehanna counties will get between $1.1 million and $2.2 million, the attorney general's office estimates.

The counties may get an additional $37.9 million over the next six to 15 years from a separate, $18.76 billion nationwide settlement reached with pharmacy chains CVS, Walmart and Walgreens and two additional manufacturers, Teva and Allergan. Distribution of those funds has not yet begun.

The total amount Luzerne County is estimated to receive from both settlements is $41,623,099, with Lackawanna County expected to collect $17,666,356, according to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and https://nationalopioidsettlement.com.

County officials say the funding will go a long way toward helping tackle the opioid epidemic that continues to decimate communities statewide.

"We all have a shared vision on what our goals are, and that's to reduce the impact of the opioid epidemic," said Ryan Hogan, administrator of the Luzerne-Wyoming Counties Drug and Alcohol Program. "I think we can have a significant impact with those monies."

Many counties have only just begun to consider how to spend the money, however.

Lackawanna County recently established an 11-member committee to evaluate proposed uses. The committee has met twice, but has not yet allocated any of the approximately $1.2 million the county received thus far, said county solicitor Frank Ruggiero.

Luzerne County, which received $2.6 million so far, is considering a similar committee, but those plans have not yet been finalized, Hogan said.

Schuylkill County, which received more than $300,000, has tasked its existing drug and alcohol advisory board with distributing the funds, said Elaine Gilbert, administrator of the county's mental health, developmental services and drug and alcohol programs.

A trust established last year to oversee expenditures sets guidelines for how the money can be used, with a focus on treatment, education and diversionary programs. Counties have considerable leeway in deciding where to focus their efforts.

In Lackawanna County, District Attorney Mark Powell, a member of the opioid settlement committee, said the panel generally agrees the majority of funds should be earmarked for programs to assist people in recovery support themselves, including providing funding for housing, childcare and transportation.

"The focus is really on sustained recovery, trying to support people in treatment and after they get out of treatment," Powell said.

Some officials, including Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce, have proposed earmarking some of the funds for law enforcement.

While he strongly supports treatment and diversionary programs, Sanguedolce said law enforcement is also a critical component to battling the opioid epidemic. He recently proposed hiring two detectives to focus on opioid investigations as well as two deputy coroners to respond to suspected opioid deaths.

"It would be silly to pretend that at least some part of fixing the problem does not relate to arresting drug dealers," Sanguedolce said. "They need to be punished and taken off the streets."

It's unclear whether funding can be used for those purposes, however. Under the guidelines, county officials would have to seek permission from the board that oversees the trust and the state Commonwealth Court.

Hogan said he would not rule out dedicating some funding for law enforcement, but the majority should be earmarked for treatment and diversionary programs. He said one of his priorities is to expand medication-assisted treatment at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.

"Medication-assisted treatments are now a requirement of Americans with Disability Act," Hogan said. "The opioid settlement monies would ease the burden on the county prison budget."

In Schuylkill County, Gilbert said no one has yet proposed setting aside any funds for law enforcement. She'd like to focus funding on diversionary programs, including establishing a halfway house in the county.

Gilbert said she also wants to ensure that any programs that seek funding are not entirely reliant on opioid settlement money and can sustain themselves with other funds going forward.

"We are going to average about $300,000 a year," she said. "That's really not a lot of money to sustain any ongoing project."

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.