The Covington Commission unanimously voted to enter into a national settlement with several opioid producers and distributors at its legislative meeting on Tuesday night.
The companies involved in the settlement include Teva Pharmaceuticals, Allegra, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart.
The settlement is the second of its kind. The Kentucky Attorney General’s office announced the first settlement in July 2021. In that settlement, the state secured $478 million from manufacturers and distributors of opioid-based medications, according to a February letter from the attorney general’s office. As of February, companies have paid out about $50 million.
Half of the money from the first settlement will fund the state’s opioid advisement council. The other half will go to local government efforts to combat opioid abuse. Covington received about $800,000 from the 2021 settlement as of March, according to Andrew Wilhoite, the city of Covington’s director of special projects and intergovernmental affairs.
The attorney general’s office secured another settlement in 2022, yielding $364 million over 15 years. This will bring the amount secured from various companies to $842 million.
Kentucky statute dictates how local governments can spend the money. Eligible expenses include funding residential treatment centers, buying emergency supplies for first responders, establishing training fellowships and scholarships among other measures for mitigating opioid abuse.
The city has retained outside counsel to help with the settlement. The amount of money Covington stands to receive has not been firmly established.
