Authored by: Ollie Lammers
According to CNN.com, Native American tribes have settled with Johnson & Johnson. The tribes will receive $590 million from Johnson & Johnson, which has been agreed upon in principle but still needs to finalize.
The pharmacy company will pay the Native American tribes $150 million over the next two years.
Native American tribes have suffered some of the worst effects of the opioid epidemic. The tribal government has spent most of its funds on the opioid epidemic. Tribal communities have had to increase costs for social services such as child welfare, law enforcement, other government services, and increased costs spent on health care.
According to the CDC, the Native Americans’ population only counts for 1% of the U.S. population, but opioid overdose deaths are above the national average from 2000 to 2016. Overdose deaths of Native Americans have been steadily increasing over the past decade.
The attorneys representing the Native American tribes will move to finalize the agreement once it hears back from individual tribal communities. The legal team in this settlement represents about 400 of the 574 federally recognized tribes.
The legal team wants to hear back from the communities they are representing and reach a “benchmark” before finalizing the settlement terms.
For more information about this settlement, click here to be taken to the CNN.com article.