Yuma County to receive money in Opioid settlement fund agreement

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY)- Yuma County will be receiving an estimated 2% of the Arizona Opioid Settlement Fund Agreement allocated to Arizona Counties.

“The state of Arizona along with other states decided to do something about the opioid and hold the people that were responsible for distributing some of these opioids or perhaps not educating the public about the addictive potential of these opioids accountable,” said Diana Gomez, Director of Public Health and Chief Health Officer for Yuma County.

In the settlement, companies such as Walgreens, CVS, and Purdue Pharma will be forced to pay an estimated $46.2 billion.

The money from the settlement would help funding for organizations such as Community Medical Services.

“Even with medical conditions sometimes they they can’t have one medication as an option so having those different options would help us serve a larger population for opioid use for those people who are in need,” said Roxanna Irra, the clinic manager at Community Medical Services.

However, organizations like Community Medical Services and the Yuma County as a whole may have to wait a little longer for the funding.

“Some of those entities might provide payments over five years some of them over ten years and some of them might spread those payments over eighteen years so the funding amount is going to vary per year and it’s not consistent so its not a guarantee,” said Gomez.

While the exact amount is not known it is estimated that the Yuma County will receive just under $13 million.