Nebraska Counties and 16 Towns Receiving $100 Million Total in Opioid Settlement
By Aaron Bonderson 
, Report for America Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media
Feb. 25, 2022, 5 p.m. ·
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Nebraska will receive a $100 million share of damages collected from the makers and distributors of opioids. The case stems from the huge influx of opioid addiction in America.
The money is part of a $26 billion nationwide settlement reached between lawyers and drug companies.
The state will distribute the funds to 93 Nebraska counties and 16 cities over 18 years. Among the companies paying the funds are Johnson & Johnson, which produces the drugs, and the three distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen.
It’s not yet clear how the money will be spent. It is intended for projects preventing opioid use in Nebraska. As a part of the deal, J&J will no longer sell opioids. This is the second largest multistate settlement in history, ranking only behind a similar deal against tobacco in 1998.