Dose of Reality: Opioid Settlement Funds
Our work on the National Prescription Opiate Litigation
On February 25, 2022, the Wisconsin Department of Justice announced final approval of an agreement with the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors (Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen) and Johnson & Johnson. Payments from the distributors will continue for 18 years. Payments from Johnson & Johnson will continue for nine years.
Wisconsin is due to receive more than $400 million in total funding. 2021 Wisconsin Act 57 requires that the 87 local governments that participated in this litigation receive 70 percent of the funds, with the state receiving 30 percent of the funds. This means that the local governments will share $280 million and the state will receive $120 million, as well as $9.6 million in additional restitution.
We are managing the distribution of the state funds. We are required to submit a plan to the Joint Committee on Finance every year with details on the projects we intend to support with the payments we expect to receive for the funding year. Our plans cover state fiscal years (July 1-June 30).
State fiscal year 2024 funding
We expect to receive $8 million in opioid settlement payments in state fiscal year 2024. The Joint Committee on Finance approved a modified version of our plan for this funding June 16, 2023. The plan invests:
- $2,900,000 for the distribution of fentanyl test strips and NARCAN® through our Fentanyl Test Strip Direct Program and NARCAN® Direct Program, as well as leave behind programs operated by emergency medical services agencies.
- $2,500,000 to cover room and board costs for Medicaid members receiving residential substance use disorder treatment.
- $2,000,000 to support the cost of medication-assisted treatment for people with an opioid use disorder.
- $300,000 for a substance use disorder treatment directory known as Atlas, which is managed by Shatterproof.
- $300,000 for training surgeons on practices to prevent opioid misuse following surgery through a program operated by the Surgical Collaborative of Wisconsin.
State fiscal year 2023 funding
We received about $31 million in opioid settlement payments in state fiscal year 2023.
Expand a section below to review how we're investing this funding into strategies to save lives. The strategies listed below were approved by the Joint Committee on Finance.
This funding is for public and private schools to implement evidence-based substance use prevention programming.
Status
The Department of Public Instruction has awarded 23 grants.
- Appleton Area School District (Outagamie and Calumet Counties), $16,394
- Archdiocese of Milwaukee (Multiple counties), $2,000
- Beloit School District (Rock County), $15,000
- Black Hawk School District (Lafayette and Green counties), $5,607
- Black River Falls School District (Clark, Jackson, and Monroe counties), $10,000
- Dodgeville School District (Iowa County), $10,000
- Eau Claire School District (Chippewa, Eau Claire, and Dunn counties), $23,333
- Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau School District (Trempealeau County), $10,000
- Great Lakes Community Conversation Corps (Racine County), $5,000
- Holy Redeemer Christian Academy School District (Milwaukee County), $5,000
- Horizon High School District (Dane County), $5,000
- Johnson Creek School District (Jefferson County), $5,000
- Lodi School District (Dane and Columbia counties), $18,333
- Milwaukee Public Schools (Milwaukee County), $25,000
- Oregon School District (Dane, Green, and Rock counties), $15,000
- Oshkosh Area School District (Winnebago County), $15,000
- Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School (Ashland County), $5,000
- Shawano School District (Shawano County), $18,333
- Superior School District (Douglas County), $15,000
- Transcenter for Youth (Milwaukee County), $5,000
- Up Christian Academy (Milwaukee County), $6,000
- Waupun Area School District (Dodge and Fond du Lac counties), $10,000
- Wolf River Lutheran High School (Shawano County), $5,000
This funding is for a community organization that serves youth to work with local law enforcement agencies to reduce opioid use.
Status
The Boys & Girls Club Fox Valley received this funding. This organization is working in partnership with the Wisconsin Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs and 25 other Boys & Girls Clubs organizations serving youth at 199 sites in 73 communities across the state with the SMART Moves Program, a program of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America that provides youth with the information and skills to make healthy decisions.
This funding is for the purchase NARCAN® and fentanyl test strips for community agencies with priority given to law enforcement agencies and first responders.
Status
$750,000 was used to purchase NARCAN® for 135 law enforcement agencies.
$285,000 was used to purchase NARCAN® for 23 organizations, including county agencies, opioid treatment programs, syringe services programs, and recovery community agencies.
$202,350 was used to purchase NARCAN® for 60 organizations, including county agencies, opioid treatment programs, and recovery community agencies.
$300,000 was used to purchase fentanyl test strips for 25 opioid treatment programs.
$300,000 was used to purchase fentanyl test strips and fentanyl test strip kits for law enforcement agencies to distribute in their communities.
$870,000 is supporting leave behind programs operated by emergency medical services providers in which the providers leave packages of NARCAN® and fentanyl test strips with people who have experienced an opioid overdose. Grants have been awarded to:
- City of Lake Geneva Fire Department
- Deer Grove EMS
- City of Franklin Fire Department
- City of Greenfield Fire Department
- Gunderson Tri State Ambulance
- City of Kenosha Fire Department
- Laona Rescue Unit
- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
- Menomonee Falls Fire Department
- Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management
- City of Milwaukee Fire Department
- North Shore Fire and Rescue
- Northwestern Municipal EMS
- City of Oak Creek Fire Department
- Oconto Falls Area Ambulance
- Orange Cross Ambulance
- Portage County EMS
- City of Racine Fire Department
- Rio Fire Department
- City of South Milwaukee Fire Department
- City of St. Croix Falls Fire Department
- Town of Beloit Fire Department
$2,000,000 is supporting a public health vending machine program. The organizations listed below have been awarded grants to purchase, install, and stock vending machines with NARCAN® and fentanyl test strips.
- Adams County Health and Human Services/Public Health
- Ashland County Health and Human Services
- City of Milwaukee Police Department
- City of Racine Public Health Department
- Dunn County Health Department
- Eau Claire City-County Health Department
- Embrace Services
- Grand Chute Police Department
- Jefferson County Health Department
- Kenosha County Public Health
- Langlade County Health Department
- Manitowoc Health Department
- Marinette County Public Health
- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
- Outagamie County Public Health Division
- Portage County Public Health Division
- Racine County Public Health Division
- Rock County Human Services
- Rock County Public Health Department
- Rock County Sheriff's Office
- Sauk County Public Health
- St. Croix Tribal Health Clinic
- Stockbridge-Munsee Community
- Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department
- Wausau Police Department
- West Allis Health Department
- Winnebago County Health Department
- Wood County Health Department
This funding is to increase access to all forms of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.
Status
We issued a grant funding opportunity in early 2023 for programs that offer low threshold access to medication for opioid use disorder, specifically buprenorphine. These programs are designed to reduce barriers to medication for opioid use disorder by having few requirements of patients and offering same-day support services. After care is initiated and when patients are stabilized, they are transitioned to other programs where they receive maintenance buprenorphine. The low threshold programs can offer services in a variety of settings, including hospital emergency departments, mobile treatment units, and pharmacies.
The grant funding opportunity received more applications than what could be funded. By supplementing this grant funding opportunity with opioid settlement funds, we were able to support more projects.
The opioid settlement funds will support projects managed by:
- Wisconsin Society of Addiction Medicine
- Milwaukee Health Service Systems
- Quality Addiction Management
- Addiction Medical Solutions
This funding is to facilitate the creation of additional lead agencies (hubs) that provide specialized substance use disorder treatment and support services in partnership with community partners (spokes).
Status
A request for applications for this funding was issued earlier this year. The applications are being reviewed.
This funding is for financial assistance to Medicaid members to support access to this residential substance use disorder treatment. Federal law prohibits Medicaid from reimbursing residential substance use disorder treatment providers for a client’s room and board expenses. Lack of funds to cover room and board costs is the primary reason Medicaid members do not enroll in this level of treatment.
Status
This funding has been awarded to agencies serving six tribal nations and 46 counties.
- Adams County: $6,782
- Ashland County: $22,608
- Brown County: $86,002
- Buffalo County: $9,931
- Chippewa County: $16,433
- Columbia County: $37,423
- Crawford County: $14,876
- Dane County: $101,813
- Dodge County: $58,523
- Door County: $13,032
- Douglas County: $17,218
- Dunn County: $27,876
- Eau Claire County: $44,947
- Green County: $16,006
- Green Lake County: $30,372
- Jackson County: $13,049
- Jefferson County: $17,045
- Kewaunee County: $11,622
- Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians: $193,698
- La Crosse County: $57,379
- Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa: $125,904
- Manitowoc County: $137,741
- Menominee County: $58,110
- Menominee Indian Tribe: $43,001
- Milwaukee County: $331,035
- Monroe County: $12,149
- North Central Health Care (Lincoln, Langlade, Marathon Counties): $108,471
- Outagamie County: $57,610
- Ozaukee County: $64,889
- Portage County: $67,732
- Racine County: $37,190
- Rock County: $36,477
- St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin: $78,190
- St. Croix County: $26,025
- Sauk County: $12,784
- Shawano County: $22,727
- Sheboygan County: $82,683
- Sokaogon Chippewa Community: $16,530
- St. Croix County: $26,025
- Stockbridge Munsee Community: $37,190
- Taylor County: $6,322
- Trempealeau County: $10,004
- Unified Community Services (Iowa and Grant Counties): $51,653
- Vernon County: $18,079
- Walworth County: $10,331
- Washington County: $52,927
- Waukesha County: $105,554
- Waupaca County: $11,467
- Waushara County: $22,039
- Wood County: $58,550
This funding is for renovations to existing facilities or construction of new facilities to provide prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services with a focus on expanding the number of beds available for inpatient treatment and pregnant and postpartum people with an opioid use disorder.
Status
This funding has been awarded to:
- Arbor Place (Menomonie), $4,910,000 (new building)
- Meta House (Glendale), $4,910,000 (new building)
- Lighthouse Recovery Community Center (Manitowoc), $180,000 (renovated building)
This funding is to develop and maintain a near real-time overdose surveillance and alert system for use by tribal nations, counties, and other providers statewide. A portion of this funding will support upgrades to Wisconsin's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
Status
Upgrades to the existing overdose alert system are being tested.
This funding is for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services for tribal members with the specific services funded determined by local needs.
Status
Each of the 11 federally recognized tribal nations with members in Wisconsin have received funding.
- Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians: $553,421
- Forest County Potawatomi Community: $540,546
- Ho-Chunk Nation: $553,421
- Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians: $478,665
- Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians: $553,421
- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin: $553,421
- Oneida Nation: $553,421
- Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians: $553,421
- Sokaogon Chippewa Community Health Clinic: $553,421
- St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin: $553,421
- Stockbridge-Munsee Community: $553,421
This funding is for police departments and sheriff's offices to support community drug disposal programs, programs that keep people with an opioid use disorder out of jail, medication-assisted treatment education and awareness training, and treatment of jail residents with an opioid use disorder. A third of this funding must be allocated to law enforcement agencies serving 70,000 or fewer people.
Status
Six law enforcement agencies received grants in the first round of applications for this funding.
- The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office has received $4,950 for community drug disposal programs.
- The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office has received $290,605 to educate and train staff on medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and treat jail residents with an opioid use disorder.
- The Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office has received $350,453 for community drug disposal programs, programs to keep people with an opioid use disorder out of jail, and to train staff on medication-assisted treatment for an opioid use disorder.
- The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office has received $214,625 to educate and train staff on medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and to treat jail residents with an opioid use disorder.
- The Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office has received $260,000 for programs to keep people with an opioid use disorder out of jail and to educate staff on medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.
- The Village of Cottage Grove Police Department has received $1,000 for community drug disposal programs.
Funds remain available for this program. A second request for applications is open through October 12, 2023. Learn more about this grant opportunity (PDF).
Quarterly reports
We are required to file quarterly reports with the Joint Committee on Finance on our progress investing the opioid settlement funds allocated to us.
State fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024)
Quarter 1 (PDF) - Filed September 29, 2023
State fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023)
There is no report for quarter 1 because our plan for the payments received in state fiscal year 2023 was not approved until September 2022.