McKinsey Agrees to Pay $573 Million in Opioid Claims Settlement

McKinsey & Company has agreed to pay out $573 million to U.S. states for its part in the opioid epidemic, according to a settlement announced Thursday.

The deal was reached with attorneys general in 47 states, five territories and the District of Columbia after legal filings revealed McKinsey, a consulting firm, was promoting and pushing prescriptions to opioid painkillers. 

“They were part of a machine that disrupted, in fact destroyed, lives and families in America,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said at a press conference. “Today we hold McKinsey to account.”

McKinsey’s role was made public during criminal proceedings against Purdue, an OxyContin maker in 2020. 

Communications between the two companies showed McKinsey coordinated with Purdue to increase sales of the opioid and cheered on doctors with the most prescriptions, according to The Washington Post. 

The $573 million from the settlement will be shared among the states, The Washington Post reports, while an additional $15 million will be given to the National Association of Attorneys General. 

“We deeply regret that we did not adequately acknowledge the tragic consequences of the epidemic unfolding in our communities. With this agreement, we hope to be part of the solution to the opioid crisis in the U.S,” McKinsey Global Managing Partner Kevin Sneader said in a statement.

Payments will be made within the next two months, according to the settlement. Attorneys general say those funds are slated to be used to help curb surging opioid addictions and overdoses happening in their states. 

Specifically, the money will go towards addiction treatment in jails and hospitals, funding needle exchanges and creating harm reduction programs, according to The New York Times.

In addition to paying out a total of $600 million, McKinsey agreed to releasing all its documents relating to the opioid scandal. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich says there are tens of thousands of these internal documents following allegations some of its partners were destroying paper trails. 

McKinsey says they have since ended relationships with those partners as of two years ago. 

Thousands of lawsuits have been lodged against opioid makers in light of the crisis. 

Purdue and McKinsey aren’t the only ones settling some of these claims. 

Johnson & Johnson added an additional $1 billion to a deal last year in October. That deal was part of a $48 billion dollar settlement between four other drugmakers. 

Since 2000, The Washington Post reports 470,000 people have died from opioid use. The Centers for Disease Control report more than 67,000 died from overdoses in 2018. 

“This is just another step in the journey of holding companies accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “Even though no amount of money can bring back the lives lost, I hope our settlement provides the funding needed for programs to help those battling opioid addiction.”

What do you think of this multistate settlement from McKinsey & Company? What do you think of their role in the opioid epidemic? Let us know in the comments below.  

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