Wis. DHS submits updated proposal for opioid settlement, receives first payment

MADISON, Wis. (WEAU) -The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is announcing that it has received the first payment of over $6 million from the National Prescription Opiate Litigation settlement funds.

Wis. DHS says in a media release that Wis. DHS has submitted an updated proposal to the legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance for how to use and invest the nearly $31 million the state was awarded from the NPOL for 2022.

The proposal can be viewed here.

“The settlement funds will go a long way toward enhancing our efforts to help people with opioid use disorder and prevent future misuse, overdoses, and deaths,” DHS Secretary-designee, Karen Timberlake, said. “We have been committed to continuous collaboration as we have planned for these funds to arrive. Our proposed investments have been informed by recommendations from the public, advocates, providers, first responders, and other partners, to avoid a ‘one-size fits all approach’ to addressing the state’s opioid crisis.”

View the full media release from Wis. DHS here.