Milwaukee Gets $18 Million Opioid Settlement
But overdoses, deaths and need for treatment continue to increase.
The City of Milwaukee will receive an initial payment of $2 million and $18 million over the life of the settlement.
The city’s $18 million comes as part of approximately $400 million Wisconsin will receive, of which about $100 million will be distributed to the Milwaukee area.
Murphy said a formal proposal on exactly what the city will spend its initial funding on will come in September.
The alderman, as chair of the City-County Heroin, Opioid, and Cocaine Task Force, has watched as the crisis has mushroomed in Milwaukee and elsewhere in the nation. He said the latest growth area in opioid abuse is in Milwaukee’s African American community, joining the already plagued South Side.
A state dashboard shows opioid deaths in Milwaukee have climbed steadily from 212 in 2014 to 424 in 2020. Milwaukee County reported a record 643 drug overdose deaths in 2021.
The state in aggregate will receive $50 million in 2022 from the settlement this year, but Attorney General Josh Kaul said in March that this amount is less than the state already spends on the Treatment Alternatives and Diversion program.
MORI attempts to help people who have experienced a non-fatal overdose or are close to someone who overdoses. The program’s funding supports MFD and peer support counselors from community partners making follow-up visits. It also pays for things like free rides from transportation network company Lyft to treatment facilities.
In 2019, Murphy said the city’s earlier follow-up efforts amounted to handing an individual a postcard-sized note with a phone number on it as they left the ambulance. Now care services are coordinated in partnerships with groups like Community Medical Services, WisHope and CleanSlate Milwaukee and follow-up visits are made.
Funding for the settlement comes from four companies: Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. Additional settlements are expected to be forthcoming from other companies including opioid maker Purdue Pharma.
More about the Opioid Crisis
- Menominee Tribe Has 70% Decline in Overdose Deaths, Hospitalizations - Joe Schulz - Nov 27th, 2024
- Serenity Inns: A Proven Lifesaving Facility Denied Critical State Funding - Serenity Inns - Nov 19th, 2024
- Milwaukee County Outreach Team Going Door-to-Door Handing Out Narcan in High Overdose Areas - Evan Casey - Nov 14th, 2024
- DHS Launches New System to Help Communities Track and Respond to Overdose - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Nov 14th, 2024
- Attorney General Kaul and Bipartisan Coalition of 30 States Announce Settlement with Kroger Over Opioid Crisis - Wisconsin Department of Justice - Nov 6th, 2024
- Baldwin Calls on Biden Administration to Investigate China’s Role in Fueling the Fentanyl Crisis - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Oct 23rd, 2024
- Baldwin Brings Home $750,000 for Northeastern Wisconsin to Combat Fentanyl and Opioid Epidemic - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Sep 27th, 2024
- AG Kaul Meets with EMS Leave Behind Program Recipients - Wisconsin Department of Justice - Sep 17th, 2024
- MKE County: Crowley Signs Opioid Program Funding - Graham Kilmer - Sep 10th, 2024
- Serenity Inns Opens New Addiction Treatment Center in Milwaukee - Serenity Inns - Aug 14th, 2024
Read more about Opioid Crisis here
Political Contributions Tracker
Displaying political contributions between people mentioned in this story. Learn more.