Hawaiʻi could receive up to $2.4M in nationwide opioid settlement

Hawaiʻi could receive up to $2.4 million as part of a $720 million nationwide settlement with eight drug manufacturers over their role in the opioid crisis.

“This settlement marks a critical step in holding opioid manufacturers accountable for the role they played in fueling the opioid epidemic,” said Deputy Attorney General Christopher Han with the Department of the Attorney General’s Commerce and Economic Development Division. “While no amount of money can undo the harm, this agreement would bring funding for much-needed resources to support addiction treatment, recovery services and prevention efforts.”  

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health launched a website that allows the public to track where an excess of $100 million in opioid settlement funds paid to the state by pharmaceutical companies is going.

Over the last few years, these companies entered into settlement agreements with numerous plaintiff states and other claimants. The State of Hawaiʻi settled most of its legal claims against these companies and is expected to receive approximately a total of $150 million, by annual payments, through the year 2038.

The latest settlement includes the following drug companies and payment totals:

• Mylan (now part of Viatris): $284.4 million over nine years
• Hikma: $95.8 million over one to four years
• Amneal: $71.8 million over 10 years
• Apotex: $63.7 million in a single year
• Indivior: $38 million over four years
• Sun: $31 million over one to four years
• Alvogen: $18.7 million in a single year
• Zydus: $14.9 million in a single year

Seven of the companies (not including Indivior) are prohibited from promoting or marketing opioids and opioid products, making or selling any product that contains more than 40 mg of oxycodone per pill, and are required to put in place a monitoring and reporting system for suspicious orders. Indivior has agreed to not manufacture or sell opioid products for the next 10 years, but it will be able to continue marketing and selling medications to treat opioid use disorder.  

The County of Hawai‘i is receiving funding from the Hawai‘i State Opioid Settlement through two sources: the state’s share and the county’s share.

Hawai‘i County officials have not received any confirmation from the Department of Health about this new settlement and its specific amounts to counties, said county spokesperson Tom Callis.

In 2024, Hawai‘i County established a Memorandum of Agreement, also known as an MOA, with the state to facilitate the transfer of $478,400. This amount is designated for various opioid prevention and education activities for the Hawai‘i Island Fentanyl Task Force.

The county has a two-year contract with the Big Island Substance Abuse Council, a fiscal agent for the Hawai‘i Island Fentanyl Task Force. So far, over $177,000 has been expended for the operation of the task force, said county spokesperson Tom Callis.

Callis said the county recently established a separate MOA with the State Department of Health specifically for the transfer of these funds to the county. 

If this specific settlement follows the existing administration of the National Opioid Settlement Funds, the state uses an 85% (State’s) and 15% (Counties’) allocation model. The counties will then receive a share of the 15%.

The funds will be used for opioid remediation activities that address treatment, prevention and other strategies outlined by the Hawaii MOA.

Callis said the county recently received $925,000 in FY 2024-2025 and expect a little over $200,000 in FY 2025-2026. There will likely be additional disbursements from the State in FY2025-2026, though the exact amount is not yet known.

Hawai‘i County officials anticipate receiving just over $4 million from the county’s share of the settlement over the next decade, with disbursements continuing until 2038.

No funds from the county’s share have been allocated to the community yet. The Department of Research and Development is currently in the process of developing a spending strategy that follows the County’s and State’s procurement.