California’s Opioid Settlements and Bankruptcies

California’s Opioid Settlements

In late 2022, California cities and counties received the first round of payments from settlements with opioid manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the parent company of Johnson & Johnson, and the “big three” distributors: McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Cencora, previously Amerisource Bergen (the Distributors). In 2023, California also reached settlement agreements with Allergan and Teva Pharmaceuticals. Settlements with pharmacies CVS, Walgreens and Walmart were reached in early 2024, followed by Kroger in 2025. Payments are being made to cities and counties that opted into these settlements. Funds received from all of California’s opioid settlements are distributed as follows:

• 15% allocated to the State of California to use for future Opioid Remediation activities (CA State Fund).
• 70% allocated to cities and counties to use for future Opioid Remediation activities (CA Abatement Accounts Fund).
• 15% allocated to cities and counties who filed original lawsuits against opioid defendants, to use for future Opioid Remediation activities and to reimburse past opioid-related expenses (CA Subdivision Fund).

California’s Opioid Bankruptcies

In early 2023, cities and counties in California received the first round of payments from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, a generic opioid manufacturer that filed for bankruptcy to address their opioid litigation with multiple states. Payments were made to cities and counties from the National Opioid Abatement Trust II (NOAT II).

California’s allocation from the Mallinckrodt Bankruptcy was distributed as follows:

• 40% of funds will be awarded to the State of California to use for future remediation activities (NOAT II Fund – State Share).
• 60% of funds will be awarded to Local Governments to use for future Opioid Remediation activities (NOAT II Fund – Local Government Share).

Other Settlements and Bankruptcies

California has reached additional settlement and bankruptcy agreements that do not require cities and counties to report to DHCS. These additional agreements include a settlement agreement with McKinsey & Co., a settlement agreement with Remnant defendants, and a bankruptcy agreement with Endo Pharmaceuticals.

List of Payments

Individuals interested in a list of payments made to the State of California and its participating cities and counties for the relevant settlement and bankruptcy agreements can visit the DHCS California Opioid Settlements webpage.