2025 Opioid Settlements with Purdue/Sacklers and group of 8 manufacturers
FAQs
1. How will Maine's abatement funds from the opioid settlements be allocated?
Settlement funds will be allocated within Maine according to the two Memoranda of Understanding ("MOUs") between the Attorney General and the counties, cities, and towns which filed opioids lawsuits. 30% of all settlement funds will be directly paid to eligible counties, cities, and towns – both litigating and non-litigating, including every county - in Maine. 50% is allocated to the Maine Recovery Fund for statewide distribution by the Recovery Council. And 20% will be allocated to the Attorney General.
All opioid settlement funds which will come into Maine until 2038 will need to be spent on opioid abatement activities as described in exhibits to the MOUs, including prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery programs.
The first MOU from 2022 allocates settlement funds from the Distributors and J&J settlements, as well as any funds received from the Mallinkrodt and Purdue bankruptcies. The second MOU covers settlements finalized since 2023.
Beginning in July, 2025, Maine's subdivisions began to receive notices of their eligibility to sign on to two groups of settlements: (i) the Purdue/Sackler settlements, and (ii) settlements with a group of 8 opioid manufacturers.
The Purdue/Sackler settlements are two separate settlements: a "Direct Settlement" with members of the Sackler family which owned Purdue Pharma; and an "Estate Settlement" with Purdue Pharma as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. Subdivisions will have the opportunity to sign on to the Direct Settlement; they will separately have the opportunity to vote in the bankruptcy proceeding to approve the Estate Settlement. Both the Direct Settlement and the Estate Settlement are together the Purdue/Sackler settlements.
The group of 8 opioid manufacturer settlements are separate settlements that have been grouped together to ease the administrative burden of sign on.
2. How much will my county, city, or town receive under the settlements?
For the new Purdue/Sackler settlements, and the group of 8 manufacturer settlements, information about Subdivisions' estimated maximum shares is available here (Excel). NOTE: These estimates reflect the maximum Subdivisions may expect to receive only if 100% of the Maine Subdivisions listed on the chart sign on to the settlements.
For prior settlements, detailed information about estimated payments as well as received payments for all subdivisions, the State and the Recovery Council is available on the Settlement Payments page.
3. Over what time period will the settlements pay out?
Together they will pay out over 18 years, starting with the first payments in 2022. By settlement, they will pay out as follows:
| Distributors | 18 years: Last Payment is expected to occur in 2038 |
|---|---|
| J&J | 10 years: Last Payment is expected to occur in 2031 |
| Walmart: | 1 year: Payment is expected to occur in 2023 |
| CVS: | 10 years: Last payment is expected to occur in 2032 |
| Walgreens: | 15 years: Last payment is expected to occur in 2037 |
| Teva: | 13 years: Last payment is expected to occur in 2035 |
| Allergan: | 7 years: Last payment is expected to occur in 2029 |
| Purdue/Sacklers: | 10 years: Last payment is estimated to occur in 2035 |
| Alvogen | 1 year: Payment is estimated to occur in 2026 |
| Amneal | 10 years: Last payment is estimated to occur in 2035 |
| Apotex | 1 year: Payment is estimated to occur in 2026 |
| Hikma | 1 year: Payment is estimated to occur in 2026 |
| Indivior | 5 years: Last payment is estimated to occur in 2030 |
| Mylan | 9 years: Last payment is estimated to occur in 2034 |
| Sun | 1 year: Payment is estimated to occur in 2026 |
| Zydus | 1 year: Payment is estimated to occur in 2026 |
4. Where can counties, cities, and towns find additional guidance about ways to use these funds to address the opioid crisis in Maine?
The Attorney General's website has a page with resources to help subdivisions learn more about the approved abatement uses of the settlement funds, including public health-based principles, guides, and toolkits. The Maine Opioid Settlement Support (MOSS) Center also has resources and other assistance available to the counties, cities, and towns receiving direct payments from opioid settlements.
5. How can I find out more information about what my county, city or town is using its settlement funds for?
The best way to find out about what your community is doing with its settlement funds is to call your county administrators, or if your city or town is a participating subdivision call the city or town office. The Attorney General's Office has a list of participating subdivisions and contact information (MS Word). It may be helpful to review the resources available for making the best use of the settlement funds to address the opioid crisis in your community, starting with principles for using the funds.
6. Who do I contact for more information?
To contact your county, city or town please see above for the list of contact information. For inquiries to the Maine Recovery Counsel, please email: info.RecoveryCouncil@maine.gov.
