Conceptualizing and Measuring Abatement from the Opioid Epidemic: A Case Study from Pennsylvania

Policy Points In 2021, four major pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors reached a proposed settlement agreement with 46 state Attorneys General of $26 billion to address their liabilities in fueling the US opioid epidemic. It raises important questions about abatement conceptualization and measurement for allocating settlement funds among substate entities. We outline the political economy tensions undergirding the settlement and allocation, introduce an abatement conceptual framework, describe how an abatement formula was developed for Pennsylvania to allocate settlement funds, and summarize considerations for future settlement allocation efforts. Documenting the challenges and experiences of this task is essential to inform future efforts.