Minnesota Opioids State-Subdivision Memorandum of Agreement

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

Hennepin County and its County Attorney’s Office led efforts to maximize funds paid directly to Minnesota counties from a nationwide settlement with opioid distributors and an opioid manufacturer. In 2021, the framework of this settlement was announced, which guaranteed only 15 percent of the $26 billion settlement would be paid directly to counties and cities. This default allocation was not acceptable to Minnesota’s counties, who are on the frontlines of battling the opioid epidemic—a complex public health, human services, and public safety crisis—and who have the best insight on the community’s needs for opioid prevention and treatment. On behalf of the numerous counties that brought suit against these opioid companies, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office made the case over months of negotiations with the State of Minnesota and other stakeholders that the majority of settlement dollars should be paid directly to counties. The result was a sizeable increase for counties—75 percent of Minnesota’s settlement funds will be paid directly to Minnesota counties and several cities, which is among the nation’s highest local government allocations. Hennepin County’s efforts created a roadmap for disbursement of future opioid settlements that will maximize payment to counties to address the opioid epidemic.