OAC council opts for cash over product for three small opioid settlements

The Office of Addiction and Care (OAC) council on March 4 recommended taking cash rather than in‑kind product from three recent small opioid‑manufacturer settlements, citing concerns about product valuation, distribution logistics and staff capacity.

Mary, an OAC staff presenter, told the council that some companies offered naloxone kits and other products but did not provide disbursement support. She said, “there’s NO help with disbursement…we would be responsible for dispersing it,” and noted discrepancies between vendor‑reported kit values and publicly available prices.

Council members pressed on practical limits. Mary and other staff raised that certain offered products (for example, sublingual treatments) require medical administration or prescription control and that the office lacks an existing mechanism to distribute large volumes of specialized products. Mary said taking large quantities of product “would most likely need another FTE to try to figure out how to disperse this.”

Wayne Whiteco moved and a council member seconded a motion to accept the straight cash conversion; the motion was carried by roll call (motion carried). The council recorded no dissent in the roll call that followed the question.

Why it matters: cash provides immediate flexibility for payment and for using existing OAC and department payment systems (BCMS/Edison). Staff said cash conversions avoid the logistical burden of receiving, storing and distributing donated product, and avoid uncertainty about fair market valuation.

What’s next: Staff will notify the Attorney General’s Office of the council’s recommendation and work through accounting and disbursement steps in the department’s existing financial systems.