Centre County commissioners approved documents allowing the county to participate in a new round of the National Prescription Opiate Litigation with a group of eight secondary manufacturers, the board said during its public meeting. The board voted to authorize submission of the settlement paperwork after county staff explained the terms and how funds would be disbursed.

The county's packet lists the manufacturers included in this round as Alvogen Inc.; Apotex Corp.; Amneal Pharmaceuticals; Hikma Pharmaceuticals; Indivior Inc.; Viatris Inc. (formerly part of Mylan); Sun Pharmaceutical Industries; and Zydus Pharmaceutical USA Inc. County staff said Pennsylvania's estimated share of this settlement is about $28 million of a $720 million nationwide pool, but the county's eventual payment is still to be determined and could arrive as one payment or over as many as 10 years.

Why it matters: the county has used earlier opioid-settlement funds to pay for treatment, prevention and other services tied to opioid use disorder. Under the terms the county described, funds in this round would be restricted to activities listed in Exhibit E of the settlement agreement, the same list the county has used for prior payments.

County staff said the settlement is structured differently from previous rounds because some money will be held back and paid later if other jurisdictions do not participate; that creates the prospect of additional payments at the end of the 10-year term if the held funds are not needed for future litigation. County staff estimated the local share could be in the range of tens of thousands of dollars per year but emphasized the figure was only a rough projection.

Concerns were raised about the limits on allowable spending. The board discussed whether Exhibit E is too restrictive to address all local costs of the opioid crisis; staff and at least one commissioner said Exhibit E governs what this settlement money can pay for and that the county will prioritize its use against other funding sources as state and federal budgets become clear.

The board recorded a unanimous voice vote to approve the settlement documents and participate in the round.