John Greene and his counselor Emily Georgia at Family & Children's Counseling Services in Cortland, N.Y. Greene is four months into recovery for the first time since he started regularly using drugs at age 14. He credits a new program that the counseling center started with opioid settlement money. Celia Talbot Tobin for KFF Health News hide caption
Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, has introduced legislation with Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, to put guardrails around the use of billions of opioid settlement funds. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag hide caption
Advocates and victims of the opioid crisis gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 4, 2023, while the justices hear a case about Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy deal. The protesters urged justices to overturn the deal, which would give the Sackler family immunity against future civil cases related to opioids. Aneri Pattani/KFF Health News hide caption
Last year, more than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses. Advocates and family members marked the tragic toll with cardboard grave markers on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 23. Aneri Pattani/KFF Health News hide caption
States and counties nationwide are using opioid settlement funds for law enforcement efforts, including buying new squad cars. This draws criticism that the funds should be invested in treatment instead. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images hide caption
At a December 2022 meeting, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors decided to use $63,000 of opioid settlement funds to help cover a budget shortfall. Since settlement payments will arrive annually till 2038, they plan to use it as an ongoing revenue source. KFF/Screengrab of Dec. 13, 2022, Mendocino County Board of Supervisors meeting hide caption
Local representatives gather in Beckley, W.Va., to select a regional representative for the nonprofit council that will be responsible for distributing funds from the state's opioid settlement. Around the country, state councils like this will decide how to spend $50 billion in opioid settlement funds. Leah Willingham/AP hide caption
Public art in Altoona, Penn., one of many cities hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Marianne Sinisi organized the installation after her son died of an overdose. State and local governments have received about $3 billion so far out of $50 billion total in settlements from national lawsuits. Nancy Andrews/KFF Health News hide caption
States filed lawsuits against corporations involved in the opioid crisis. Now, about $50 billion in settlement funds have begun to flow to state governments. Advocates want to make sure it is used to treat addiction. ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Marianne Sinisi, of Altoona, Pennsylvania, lost her 26-year-old son, Shawn, to an opioid overdose in 2018. She wants the opioid settlement dollars to be spent in ways that help spare other parents similar grief. Nancy Andrews/KHN hide caption