Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was part of a multistate coalition that reached a settlement with Albertsons that would require the grocery chain to pay more than $773 million nationally to address its role in the opioid crisis, according to an Oct. 15 news release from his office.
Under the settlement, which must still become final, Texas and its political subdivisions are eligible to receive up to $57.8 million for opioid abatement in the state, the Office of the Attorney General said.
The office said national investigations and litigation against the pharmaceutical industry over the opioid crisis have produced more than $50 billion in settlements to date, and that the Albertsons agreement is the latest in a series Paxton has negotiated. According to the release, Paxton has obtained more than $3.3 billion in legal settlements with drug manufacturers and other entities for their roles in the national opioid epidemic.
“This settlement is a major step forward in ensuring justice for the communities and families who have been devastated by the catastrophic opioid epidemic,” Paxton said in the release. “I will continue to go after Big Pharma or any other bad actor that jeopardizes the health of Texans.”
The attorney general’s office said funds from statewide opioid settlements are dedicated to opioid abatement and overseen by the Texas Opioid Council.
Affected political subdivisions in Texas are encouraged to sign on to the settlement so that Texas citizens and entities may receive the benefits and opioid remediation funds to which they are entitled, the office said. Subdivisions will receive information from the National Opioid Settlement Administrator about signing on, and those represented by counsel should contact their counsel for more information, according to the release.
The office said joining the settlement allows subdivisions to receive direct payments and grant money in the form of opioid abatement funding from the Texas Opioid Council.