Washington County signs opioid settlement

The Washington County Board of Supervisors unanimously signed agreements to participate in national and statewide opioid lawsuit settlements.

“This was all started in 2017, at that time there was approximately 60,000 opioid deaths and counting,” Supervisor Jack Seward Jr. said. “I question in my mind whether these lawsuits are really doing anything to battle the opioid crisis that we are seeing because the latest figures that I have seen or heard are that we are on track to be over 100,000 opioid overdose deaths, and it’s the leading cause of death for people between 18 and 45 in this country.”

Still, Seward said the settlement was worth signing.

“The political will being what the political will is, we don’t have a lot to say about it,” he said. “It has its pluses and it has its minuses, but we have this opportunity and I think it will highlight the opioid crisis that we have, and I think we should tell our legislators that we need something done about it.”

The settlement requires that local governments only use the money for “opioid related expenditures,” a 15-page list of possibilities that includes everything from first responder training to media campaigns to expanded rehab access and treatment supplies.

Washington County’s opioid risk is relatively low, compared to the rest of the state. Of Iowa’s 99 counties, Washington was ranked the eighth lowest for risk of opioid overdose deaths in a 2019 Iowa Department of Public Health report.

That’s not to say it’s non-existent. The report acknowledged “limitations in the data,” with conclusions drawn from available correlating variables rather than county-level data on opioid deaths, which was unavailable.

Still, it’s unclear how much money the county would qualify for, if any, under the settlement.

“We don’t know how much money we’re going to get from this, it all depends on the final tally of how many government jurisdictions choose to participate,” Seward said. “This is housekeeping, it’s a bureaucratic way to participate, and if we qualify for the funds, this is how we’re going to get them.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com