J&J to Pay Native American Tribes $590 Million in Settlement Over Opioid Crisis
A recent settlement will require Johnson & Johnson and the three largest drug distributors — McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health — to pay $590 million to over 400 Native American tribes affected by the opioid crisis.
There are currently 418 federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and 17 inter-tribal organizations with litigation pending before the court against opioid manufacturers, distributors and certain pharmacies, all of which tribal plaintiffs maintain are responsible for the opioid crisis.
American Indians and Alaska Natives had the highest drug overdose death rates in 2015 and have had the largest percentage increase in the number of deaths over time from 1999-2015 compared with other racial and ethnic groups, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to documents filed Tuesday in the federal court, the settlement will be paid over seven years and each of the over 400 tribes will receive different amounts.
The Cherokee Nation, for example, will receive $18 million of a $150 million settlement from J&J and the Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement that the money will be used in part to increase access to mental health services.
The settlement is the largest opioid settlement to occur in the history of Native American litigation cases.
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