Penn State researchers, in collaboration with Temple University, the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust, unveil new website showing expenditure of opioid settlement funds in Pennsylvania.
Beginning in 2021, a national coalition of attorneys general led by then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro reached settlements to hold prescription opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacy companies accountable for their role in contributing to the opioid addiction epidemic in the United States. The settlements have required various companies to pay approximately $50 billion to be distributed among the states over nearly 20 years.
Researchers at Penn State previously aided the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in determining how to allocate the funds. Now, the team — along with colleagues at Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh — has published a new website that provides detailed, county-level information about how the opioid settlement funds are being used in Pennsylvania. Although not created by or for the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust (“Trust”), the website displays data collected as part of Penn State’s ongoing work with the Trust, which receives, invests and distributes opioid settlement funds in accordance with the national opioid settlements.
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