More than $50 billion in opioid settlement funds turned into a political issue after gubernatorial candidates wanted sole credit in fighting the opioid epidemic.
Gubernatorial Candidates Want Sole Credit for Winning Over $50 Billion in Opioid Settlement Funds Following Opioid Epidemic
Various gubernatorial candidates wanted sole credit for winning more than $50 billion in opioid settlement funds following the fight against the epidemic despite the opioid settlement funds being allotted to address the opioid crisis without any political reasons.
According to a report published in US News, opioid settlement funds were not the result of any political efforts of the gubernatorial candidates fighting and did not even come from taxpayer money; however, opioid settlement funds started with the efforts of healthcare companies aiming to reduce the increasing cases of opioids.
With the opioid settlement funds divided, several attorney generals and gubernatorial candidates have been clashing over who should have the sole credit for distributing the opioid settlement funds as all of them claimed that the agreement would not be settled without their efforts.
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Advocates Raise Concerns After Gubernatorial Candidates Wanted to Have Sole Credit in Opioid Settlement Funds
Following gubernatorial candidates’ fight to have sole credit in the opioid settlement funds, several advocates raised concerns about how the funds would be spent or if they really addressed the opioid crisis.
However, citizens did not care about who had the sole credit in the opioid settlement funds and only cared about how the funds would fight the opioid epidemic across the country, NPR reported.
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