Opioid

"While there is no amount of money that can bring back the thousands of people who have died from opioid use disorder ... this is an important victory,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Townships say they’re decline settlement money because of burdensome state oversight

The group Michigan Liberation passed out bags with the anti-opioid overdose drug Narcan, and test strips that can detect fentanyl in street drugs, in a Detroit neighborhood with one of the state's highest rates of fatal overdoses.

Michigan plans to add another 850 patients this year to the "Opioid Health Home" program, which treats the "whole person," including barriers like housing and transportation.

The settlement could provide Michigan with millions of dollars to pay for treatment and recovery services.

The Legislature is poised to send bills to Governor Gretchen Whitmer that would clear the way for Michigan to get its share of the national opioid lawsuit settlement.

The Michigan Senate passed legislation Thursday that would create the framework for how to spend the state's share of a $26 billion opioid settlement.

A state House committee adopted two bills Tuesday to ensure that Michigan’s share of the national opioid settlement with drug manufacturers is used to treat addiction.

A dozen doctors are among 16 people in Michigan and Ohio for a health care fraud that included the distribution of 6.6 million opioid doses and $250 million in false billings, according to the federal justice department.

The settlement involves three of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical distributors and an opioid manufacturer. The companies will start releasing funds to a national administrator next month. Money will start flowing to state and local governments in the second or third quarter of this year.