Jul 22, 2021 / 07:55 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The $507 million awarded to Indiana from the $26 billion national settlement with opioid manufacturers will be cut in half due to local cities and counties opting out of the settlement money.
Richard Shevitz — an attorney with Cohen & Malad, the firm representing the city of Indianapolis and other cities and counties in their own independent lawsuits against opioid manufacturers –says the state will likely get $269 million in settlement money because over 56% of the state has chosen to opt out.
When I-Team 8 spoke with Shevitz last month, he pointed how large amounts of settlement money have been handled by the state in the past. For example, the majority of the money from the Tobacco Master Settlement in 1998 was not used toward tobacco-related programs.