Background/Purpose of Request:
There is a pending national settlement with the largest opioid drug distributors, Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, as well as with Johnson & Johnson, which could bring as much as $850 million to North Carolina over an 18-year period to support state and local efforts to address the epidemic.
Because the national settlement will result in monetary allocations to the states, the State and its local governments need to agree on further allocation and use of those funds. The NC MOA governs how North Carolina would use the proceeds of the national settlement.
To maximize funds flowing to North Carolina communities on the front lines of the opioid epidemic, the agreement would direct settlement funds as follows:
· 80 percent to local governments, including all 100 counties and 17 municipalities.
· 15 percent to the state, which the General Assembly would appropriate to address the epidemic.
· An additional five percent to an incentive fund to encourage counties and large- and medium-size municipalities to sign on to the agreement.
The NC MOA is endorsed by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Board of Directors, which adopted a resolution in support of the agreement urging all 100 counties and municipal partners to sign on to it.
The state of North Carolina, 76 counties, and eight municipalities are engaged in litigation with or investigations of opioid manufacturers and distributors. All 100 counties – along with large- and medium-size municipalities –have the opportunity to review and sign on to the agreement. |