by Morgan Sweeney
Virginia is slated to receive approximately $366 million as part of the $17.3 billion nationwide settlements with opioid manufacturers Teva and Allegan and pharmacies CVS and Walgreens, Attorney General Jason Miyares announced.
“This milestone settlement with two major drug makers and two major pharmacies has been a long time coming,” said Miyares. “I look forward to seeing the positive impacts on our communities and lives this money will have across Virginia.”
Appropriations of funds have been predetermined by the creation of the Virginia Opiate Abatement Authority, established by the General Assembly in 2021. The OAA defines how settlement funds are to be used in cases where the settlement does not; if the OAA’s determinations conflict with those of the settlement, the settlement rules.
According to OAA guidelines, 55% of settlement funds will go to the OAA itself, 30% to localities and 15% to the commonwealth.
The OAA and localities have complete control over a portion of the monies they receive and can spend them on any opioid relief cause in Virginia. The commonwealth’s settlement dollars are unrestricted unless the settlement dictates otherwise.
In anticipation of significant opioid settlement dollars coming to Virginia, municipalities across the state submitted grant applications to the OAA. On Monday, the OAA announced upon review of those applications that 76 Virginia cities and counties were eligible to receive more than $23 million.
“This money is urgently needed across the state to save lives,” said Senator Todd Pillion, OAA chairman. “The OAA reviewed every application to make sure 100% of these funds are going to combat the addiction crisis that is stealing lives across Virginia.”
These grants come from the OAA’s 55% share of total state settlement funds; 30% will still be distributed directly to cities and counties.
The approximately $23 million will come in the form of recommended or planning grants to be awarded to individual cities, counties or cooperative partnerships among cities and counties.
The OAA recommended the following individual cities and counties for grants or planning grants: Galax, Hampton, Roanoke, Accomack, Appomattox, Arlington, Chesterfield, Henrico, Louisa, Powhatan, Stafford and Suffolk.
The rest of the proposed funds will go toward cooperative partnerships. The OAA press release notes, “the Code of Virginia requires OAA grants to cooperative partnerships be equitably distributed among the five Department of Behavioral Health and Disability Services regions.”
Region 1 covers all of northern Virginia, except Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William – as those areas comprise Region 2. Region 3 includes southwest Virginia, Craig, Botetourt, Roanoke, Franklin, Pittsylvania, Halifax and Mecklenburg counties–and all counties west of them. Region 4 is to the east of Region 3, and Region 5 is the state’s southeast corner.
In total, Region 1 will receive $5,083,990; Region 2 will receive $4,413,048; Region 3 will receive $6,320,841; Region 4 is slated to receive $2,680,979 and Region 5 is recommended to receive $3,050,000.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, in 2021, there were seven cities and four counties whose death-by-overdose rates ranked highest in the state, falling between 71.2 and 128.1 deaths per 100,000 residents. Those cities and counties are in Regions 3, 4 and 5.
The OAA will hold a public meeting on June 23 where the public can voice its concerns or support for the proposed grants; the OAA will then place its final votes.
Settlement funds will begin flowing to the states at the end of 2023.
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Morgan Sweeney is a staff writer covering Virginia and Maryland for The Center Square. Morgan was an active member of the journalism program as an undergraduate at Hillsdale College and previously freelanced for The Center Square.
Photo “Jason Miyares” by Jason Miyares.
