Commissioners right to criticize state’s proposal

Lorain County commissioners have every right to launch criticism at the state of Ohio in ongoing negotiations with lawsuits against the pharmaceutical industry stemming from the opioid crisis.

Commissioners have strongly criticized the state for plans to keep a majority of the settlement funds from lawsuits filed by local governments, including Lorain County, against the pharmaceutical industry.

On Feb. 11, Commissioner Lori Kokoski, Lorain County’s representative on the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, was among dozens of local government officials in Columbus hearing settlement options for the litigation, and she was not happy.

Kokoski does not feel what the state is proposing is adequate for local governments to help fight the opioid problem.

During a meeting in September, the commissioners voiced their opposition to the state taking over opioid lawsuits — against distributors and manufacturers including Purdue Pharma, Cephalon Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Endo Health Solutions Inc. — filed by local governments.

The commissioners even drafted a resolution condemning the state.

Kokoski read the resolution opposing the state takeover, which cited a lawsuit filed on behalf of the county in December 2017 against several drug manufacturers and pharmaceutical distributors “for the wrongful conduct in causing the opioid crisis which ravaged our community.”

But during the Feb. 12 commissioners’ weekly meeting, Kokoski, remained displeased with the current process and argued local governments should receive a larger share of payouts.

The commissioners had feared local governments would not get their fair share in settlements, and it appears that actually could happen.

The current proposal on the table would see 55 percent of the settlement money going to a nonprofit foundation for treatment of addiction and other related programs statewide, with local governments receiving 30 percent and the state getting 15 percent.

Kokoski said state officials are making it sound like that the 55 percent is local government money, but local governments have to beg for it, and that’s a problem.

Local governments and the entities shouldn’t have to beg for money from the state, especially in Lorain County, which has been adversely impacted with hundreds of overdose deaths in the last decade.

Although overdose-related deaths have decreased in recent years, it’s still a problem.

Last year, the Ohio Department of Health reported that in the state, 3,764 people died of unintentional drug overdoses in 2018. That’s a decrease of 1,090 from 2017.

Department officials said fentanyl was involved in 73 percent of overdose deaths in 2018 across the state.

David O’Neill, senior public information officer for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, confirmed the settlement breakdown and said the sides are continuing to work on a resolution that could help all parts of the state.

O’Neill said Yost, Gov. Mike DeWine and attorneys for local government are working hard to find a path forward.

If no path is found, the state will be prepared to try the cases against the manufacturers and distributors.

Yost has said this is not a power grab, but it’s protection for local governments to make sure that the state’s promises will come true and be honored into future years.

The proposed amendment would pool money gained through mass settlements with pharmaceutical companies and provide strict guidelines on how they can use the money.

So, Yost does deserve credit for working on the settlements, but he should consider that local governments need a larger portion of the funds.

On Feb. 12, he informed two opioid makers that the $15 million they agreed to pay to settle lawsuits filed by Cuyahoga and Summit counties has no bearing on a statewide lawsuit.

However, Kokoski feels the proposal places much in the hands of the foundation and feels it has the potential to become a “superagency.”

Kokoski said, “We do need to put something aside because this problem, even once the opioid problem hopefully goes away, this is not going to end; it’s going to be something. It’s always something, so we need to address that into the future and that’s what the foundation is intended for.”

Even if the opioid crisis goes away, there is a high probability that other illicit drug use issue will arise.

History has proven that with cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD and heroin.

Local governments, especially Lorain County, deserve a fair settlement, and the commissioners must keep up their fight to get it.