Three El Paso government entities – the county, city and University Medical Center – have received $5.2 million in opioid settlement funds from the state since 2023. Only a sliver of that amount has gone directly toward opioid risk mitigation, according to public records obtained by El Paso Matters.
The funds are part of the $3.3 billion Texas expects to receive over 18 years from national settlement agreements with drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacy chains involved with the over-prescription of opioids in the 1990s, leading to the ongoing overdose epidemic.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts began distributing payments to local governments and public hospital districts in 2023. Local governments may use their discretion to spend their payments, as long as the funds are used to address opioid-related harms in their communities…