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The National Opioid Epidemic: The Emergence of a Multi-Layered Approach

By Richard S. Hartunian, Jacqueline C. Wolff and Andrew C. Case
February 01, 2018

On Oct. 26, 2017, Eric D. Hargan, Acting Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, announced that, as a result of the opioid epidemic, “a public health emergency exists nationwide.” According to the CDC, from 1999 to 2016, more than 200,000 people died in the United States from overdoses related to prescription opioids. Between 2011 and 2016, “spending on Medicaid-covered prescriptions used to treat opioid addiction and overdoses increased from $394 million to $930 million, an average annual increase of 19[%]. Spending grew faster in later years, with a 30[%] increase between 2015 and 2016.” See, “Rapid Growth in Medicaid Spending to treat Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose.” As a result, counties, states and the federal government have mounted an attack on the pharmaceutical industry.

Cities, Counties, and Tribes on the Offensive

Starting with Chicago in 2014, over 100 cities and counties have filed civil suits against pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and retail pharmacies; these plaintiffs seek damages for costs they allegedly spent or will spend to fight the opioid epidemic. On Dec. 5, 2017, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated and transferred 64 of these cases, which will now be heard by a single judge in the Northern District of Ohio, and noted that there were more than 50 potential “tag-along” actions. In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 2804 (Dec. 5, 2017).

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