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Boston Opioid Settlements

The City of Boston has received settlement money from opioid companies. We will incrementally receive at least $22 million through 2038. 

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Background 
Pharmaceutical corporations flooded Massachusetts with opioids, fueling the opioid epidemic. Patients developed opioid use disorders, and many transitioned to street opioids and overdosed. Overdoses have killed almost 18,000 people in Massachusetts over the past 20 years. Then-Attorney General Maura Healey joined attorneys general from other states and litigated claims against these companies, winning a settlement. 
Funding Specifics 

As of March 18, 2024, Boston has received $10,046,558. The City also expects to receive more than $1 million each year through 2038.

How the Funding Will Be Spent 

The dollars should go towards people impacted by the opioid epidemic. These municipal funds can only support the strategies specified by the State of Massachusetts. These include treatment, harm reduction, recovery, and prevention. The funding is limited and cannot sustain large projects.

How boston is engaging the public 

The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) decided to allow those impacted by overdose to inform how the funds should be spent. BPHC started an equity-focused community engagement process in the summer of 2023 and will continue to get feedback from residents and organizations who have been most affected by the opioid epidemic, including:

  • families
  • people with opioid use disorder, and
  • service providers.

Learn more about opioid remediation and the settlements from the State website.

Community Engagement Report

Community Engagement Report
Boston Opioid Settlements Community Engagement Report (Jan 2024)

In the summer of 2023, more than 600 people impacted by opioid overdose helped inform the use of settlement funds.

Timeline

January 2024

Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) and the City of Boston published the Boston Opioid Settlement Community Engagement Report and announced Boston’s first use of remediation funding, decided after an extensive community engagement process that allowed residents to inform how the funds should be spent. The “Family Overdose Support Fund” will launch later this year as an annual fund that will provide financial support to Boston families who lost a loved one to opioid overdose. Read the press release.  

JuNE - September 2023

BPHC partnered with community organizations to hold listening sessions across Boston to collect community input about how the opioid settlement funds should be spent. Partner organizations and listening session attendees include the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, Nubian Square Task Force, Metro Boston Alive, Garrison Trotter Neighborhood Association, STEPRox, Recovery on the Harbor, St. Francis House, Fenway Communicate and Connect, Allston-Brighton PAUSES,  East Boston Alliance, Zumix, Project Right, North Suffolk Mental Health, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Learn to Cope, and The Sun Will Rise.

May 2023

BPHC released a community engagement survey, available in eight languages (Cabo Verdean Creole, Chinese, English, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese). BPHC also issued a Request for Information, giving constituents an opportunity to submit up to 2.5 pages of input.

July 2022

Boston received its first payment from the state's opioid settlements.

July 2021

The State announced its first settlement from opioid distributors. Funds will be distributed across the Commonwealth to cities and towns for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.

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