County subdivides untallied opioid litigation cash over 18 years

Miami-Dade may be counting its chickens before they hatch regarding how much the county may receive from a plethora of opioid litigation.

It has, in fact, already decided how to spend it. But the Damocles’ swords of “how much” and “when” remain hanging above the mayor and commissioners.

The crisis spans at least three decades, beginning with the increased prescribing of opioids in the 1990s, and with it an increase in opioid-related death, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

From 2017-2020, Florida was ranked as one of the highest states for drug overdose-related deaths in the nation, according to the Florida Department of Health. From 2017-2021, a total of 1,176 deaths due to opioid poisonings were recorded in Miami-Dade. Since 2018, deaths due to opioid overdoses have increased by 50%.

As early as 2016, the county established an Opioid Addiction Task Force, charged with “providing recommendations to reduce opioid overdoses, prevent opioid misuse and addiction, increase the number of persons seeking treatment, and support persons recovering from addiction in our communities.”

In 2022 the county commission designated the county’s Community Action and Human Services Department as the administrator of the as-yet unknown opioid settlement funds.

Published reports of the total amount from all litigation range from $3.5 billion to $26 billion. The so-far toothless fund is supposed to span 18 years, according to a Florida Opioid Allocation and Statewide Response agreement.

Juggling and unknown settlement amount did not stop the county from divvying it up. “Funds shall be distributed into three funds: City/County Fund; Regional Fund; State Fund,” county documents state.

The county commission went further with its Monopoly money, deciding that 40% would be spent in years 1-6; 35% of the remainder in years 7-9; 34% for years 10-12; 33% for years 13-15; and 30% for the final years, 16-18. Yes, that does total 172%, but the percentages are based on what remains in the fund for each set of years.

Commissioners further assigned distributing settlement funds to the Jackson Health System, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the Community Action and Human Services Department and the Miami-Dade Police Department.

The 2022 resolution deemed these entities “uniquely qualified to implement strategies … and comply with the terms set for in the Allocation Agreement.”

The strategies set forth in the resolution included:

■Treating opioid use disorder.

■Addressing the needs of pregnant women or mothers, including babies with NAS.

■Preventing over-prescribing and dispensing of opioids.

■Supporting drug take-back disposal and destruction programs.

■Educating first responders.

■Expanding access to testing and treatment for infectious diseases resulting from intravenous opioid use.

The how much and when questions of the settlement money remain.

Last June, Forbes Magazine published a handy guide to all pending opioid litigation. The guide’s introduction said that “The FDA approved the opioid drug OxyContin (oxycodone) in 1995, and it entered the market in 1996 with high expectations and heavy sales campaigns.

“OxyContin sales reached $1 billion in a mere few years. This earned the Sackler family, the owners of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, the No. 30 spot on the Forbes list of America’s most affluent families.

“Along with OxyContin, oxycodone and prescription opioid drugs led to a swath of addictions with a wide variety of personal, family, governmental and economic implications. State, local and tribal governments faced increased crime and costs as addicts sought prescription opioids. Individuals faced injuries and deaths in their families from prescription opioid addiction and its side effects.

“Eventually, these costs led to lawsuits against OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, its partners, subsidiaries and distributors.”

Litigation, pending and settled, ranges far and wide.

On June 2, Forbes reported, Indivior agreed to pay $102.5 million to settle claims that it illegally suppressed competition for its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone.

On May 31, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York approved a plan with the Sackler family that will:

■Require family members to contribute $5.5 billion to $6 billion to opioid-related causes including at least $750 million for victims of the opioid crisis and their survivors and much of the rest to an opioid addiction fund.

■Require the family to relinquish ownership of Purdue Pharma.

■Create a new company from Purdue called Knoa, which will send all profits to the opioid addiction fund.

■Allow Purdue Pharma to enter bankruptcy and begin settling the thousands of outstanding claims related to the marketing and distribution of OxyContin.

“By 2017,” Forbes said, “there were more than 2,000 pending lawsuits against Purdue and related companies. So, a judicial panel consolidated the actions in the Northern District of Ohio under Judge Dan Polster.

“The plaintiffs included 2,500 cities, counties, tribal authorities and individuals. Similar to a class action lawsuit, these plaintiffs created a negotiation class to create a global settlement. “States were not technically plaintiffs, but many state attorney generals weighed in during the proceedings.”

In that restless line of some 2,500 plaintiffs stands Miami-Dade County.

So, how are we doing?

As of last Friday, the mayor’s office reported, no “funding from the state has yet been received by” the Community Action and Human Services Department.

“Once the funds are received,” the mayor’s spokesman told Miami Today, “we will promptly provide a breakdown of how they will be allocated.

Recognizing the urgency of this project, we are ready to share more details as soon as they become available.”