For groups fighting U.S. opioid crisis, settlement money can be hard to come by

By Brendan Pierson and Disha Raychaudhuri (Reuters) - Companies accused of fueling the U.S. opioid crisis have so far paid out more than $3 billion to compensate states, but has any of the money reached the people who need it? It depends where you live. Yes, if you’re in Massachusetts; no, in Texas. A series of landmark settlements since 2021 with top drug distributors, pharmacies and drugmakers including Johnson & Johnson set compensation at a total of more than $50 billion nationwide. More than 900,000 people have died of drug overdoses in the United States since 1999, with opioids playing a...