Great project from @bakerinstitute.bsky.social tracking how the 21 largest local govts in Texas are spending their opioid settlement money. These localities have no reporting requirements, so researchers are filling a critical gap in public knowledge here. rice1.osn.mghpcc.org/crc-ssl/Opio...

Mississippi Today opens 'black box' of opioid settlement spending - Mississippi Today A Mississippi Today investigation found that after nearly three years of state and local governments receiving money, they have reported spending less than $1 million – or less than 1% of the money…

Mississippi Today opens 'black box' of opioid settlement spending mississippitoday.org/2025/09/15/b...

An HIV Outbreak in Maine Shows the Risk of Trump’s Crackdown on Homelessness and Drug Use - KFF Health News Public health experts and advocates say the outbreak has been fueled by a confluence of local factors, including the sweeping of a homeless encampment and shuttering of a sterile-syringe program. But…

A New England state is battling the largest HIV outbreak in its history. The local factors that shaped it can shed light on what to expect from Trump’s policies on homelessness and drug use. @kffhealthnews.org
kffhealthnews.org/news/article... kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Instead of Selling, Some Rural Hospitals Band Together To Survive - KFF Health News Independent and rural hospitals are collaborating with their neighbors to shore up their finances instead of joining larger health systems to stay afloat.

Independent rural hospitals are increasingly joining networks that share resources and bargaining power. The goal is to save money and improve patient care without losing their independence by joining a large health system.

Reporting from Bowman, ND:

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

If you can't join, please consider checking out this free online course I helped create with experts at @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social which offers tangible tips for reporters covering suicide www.coursera.org/learn/respon...

I'm excited to be a part of the @who.int Africa Region's webinar this Wednesday discussing key solutions any country can implement for #WorldSuicidePreventionDay. I'll be presenting on how media and journalists can play a role. It's free for all. Please join.

Zoom: lnkd.in/gAmTW8aM

Goliath vs. David: Optum Rx invokes open meetings law to fight Kentucky counties on opioid suits • Kentucky Lantern UnitedHealth Group’s pharmacy benefit manager, Optum Rx, sues five Kentucky counties to force them out of national opioid litigation against the company.

Goliath vs David: UnitedHealth Group's multibillion dollar PBM (Optum Rx) is suing 5 KY counties (one as small as 8,000 residents) to try to force them out of national opioid lawsuits against the company. @kffhealthnews.org @statesnewsroom.com @kentuckylantern.com kentuckylantern.com/2025/08/19/g...

Of course!

Payback: Tracking the Opioid Settlement Cash - KFF Health News Featured articles Localize the Data If you are a journalist who wants to investigate opioid settlement transparency data for your area, here’s how you can do that. Share Your Settlement Story Do you h...

12/ Read more of my ongoing (more than 2 years at this point!) coverage of opioid settlement funds for
@kffhealthnews.org: kffhealthnews.org/opioid-settl...

/end

Who’s Policing Opioid Settlement Spending? A Crowdsourced Database Might Help - KFF Health News Billions in opioid settlement money was meant to be spent on treating and preventing addiction — but what happens if it’s misspent? Some advocates say attorneys general need to pay closer attention. I...

11/ “I hope this is a wake-up call for state AGs that their work on this project is not done,” said Frank Kearl, who co-led the project. “We still have time” to ensure we “spend this money in a way that actually responds to the harm that was caused.” kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Opioid Settlement Money Accountability Community Hub - OPI Opioid Settlement Money Accountability Community Hub - Opioid Policy Institute

10/ For people who see misuse and want to report it, the crowdsourced database website also shows you how to file complaints with your state AG and ask them to develop a formal process for receiving and investigating such complaints. opioidpolicy.org/osm-accounta...

9/ Some examples come from recent weeks, like NJ lawmakers giving hospitals $45m in settlement funds to shield them from federal Medicaid cuts. Advocates, who protested with a die-in, said the move betrays people with substance use disorders whom the money was meant to serve.

8/ In the absence of AG oversight, researchers and advocates have created a tool to empower the public to track and report potential misuse themselves. It's a crowdsourced database, with over 150 entries already.
opioidpolicy.org/osm-accounta...

7/ Torsch wishes the focus wasn’t just on winning more money but also ensuring existing settlement dollars are spent well.

“This is blood money," she said. It can’t make up for the lives lost, but “we do want to make sure that it’s going to count.”

6/ @oagmaryland.bsky.social is set to receive $1.5m of Maryland’s opioid settlement funds annually to cover personnel & admin costs related to opioid-related lawsuits. (Meaning suing more companies for future settlements)
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/L...

5/ The results were no surprise to Toni Torsch, whose son Dan died of an overdose at age 24. She tried to report misuse to the Maryland AG last year but was told to contact the health dept instead.

She was confused. The AG’s office is supposed to be “the top cops,” she said.

Encrypted File CryptPad: end-to-end encrypted collaboration suite

4/ Stoltman’s team, along with Frank Kearl and his team at
@popdemoc.bsky.social, surveyed AG offices in 56 states & territories, and found only three mention specific processes for reporting misuse of opioid settlement money online.

Read their full findings here: cryptpad.fr/file/

3/ “If you’re going to bang your chest about how much money you got for your state for opioids,” said Jonathan Stoltman of the Opioid Policy Institute, “what are you doing to make sure that it’s actually being spent well?”

2/ State AGs were the ones who secured and signed the settlement deals, often with a lot of political fanfare. Researchers and advocates say they should now be tracking how that money is used.

🧵Billions in opioid settlement💰is meant to help curb addiction—but what happens if it’s misspent? Some advocates say state attorneys general should be paying closer attention. Until they do, a crowdsourced database tracking potential misuse could help. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Workplace Mental Health at Risk as Key Federal Agency Faces Cuts - KFF Health News Efforts to decrease alarmingly high rates of suicide among construction workers and prevent burnout in health care workers are in jeopardy after the firing of hundreds of employees at the National…

More construction workers die by suicide than die by work-related injuries. A little known federal agency was leading research and programs to address the crisis. Now, most of its staff has been cut. My latest for @kffhealthnews.org & @cbsnews.com.web.brid.gy kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

There's very little oversight on how local govts nationwide are spending billions in opioid settlement money. This newly released report from @njcomptroller.bsky.social is a rare exception. The office found the town of Irvington "wasted" $600k+ on "awareness concerts." www.nj.gov/comptroller/...

Workplace Mental Health at Risk as Key Federal Agency Faces Cuts - KFF Health News Efforts to decrease alarmingly high rates of suicide among construction workers and prevent burnout in health care workers are in jeopardy after the firing of hundreds of employees at the National…

“Workplace mental health is one of the most underappreciated yet critical areas we could intervene on,” said a former NIOSH worker. “We were just starting to get some strong support from all the players involved...This administration has blown that apart.” kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Great reporting out of West Virginia - by great student journalists - about where opioid settlement money is going in a state that's long been considered the epicenter of the opioid and overdose crisis.

‘We Need To Keep Fighting’: HIV Activists Organize To Save Lives as Trump Guts Funding - KFF Health News While Congress fails to stave off cuts to HIV care, community leaders in Mississippi and beyond race to limit the damage.

🚨My latest:

I’ve been talking with HIV activists since Trump took office.
Their organizing is rooted in pivotal social movements in America: AIDS to civil rights.

My reporting started in a Black church in the Mississippi Delta. It was the perfect place to begin. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Tons of great stories in here — guarantee you’ll get some ideas!

Great working on this with @edmahon.bsky.social and @aneripattani.bsky.social

Why are we seeing a dramatic drop in overdose deaths? Drop in drug overdose deaths comes as the Trump Administration cancels more than $11 billion dollars in grants funding mental health and addiction programs.

I was honored to join @nabarund.bsky.social‬ & Keli McLoyd on ‪@the1a.org‬ this week to discuss what's behind the recent decline in overdose deaths, how federal cuts affect addiction services & the latest opioid settlement news, including Purdue Pharm: the1a.org/segments/why...

SAMHSA Statement on 988 Press 3 Option On July 17, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will no longer silo LGB+ youth services, also known as the “Press 3 option,” to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served throu...

Here is @samhsa.bsky.social's announcement of the change: www.samhsa.gov/about/news-a...

Trump Administration Orders Termination of National LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide Lifeline, Effective July 17th Your Support Saves LGBTQ+Youth's Lives Every DayDonate June 18, 2025 – The Trevor Project received official notice yesterday that the […]

For months, the Trump admin has been discussing canceling the national suicide lifeline 988's press 3 option, which offers specialized services for LGBTQ+ ppl. Now it's happening. @trevorproject.bsky.social says they got a stop work order effective July 17 www.thetrevorproject.org/blog/trump-a...

For opioid victims, payouts fall short while governments reap millions Opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers have also begun shelling out billions of dollars to settle lawsuits over their role in the overdose epidemic. But how best to spend this money remains...

Thanks WAMU for inviting me to speak about opioid settlement money - how it's being spent in DC and how that compares to national trends. wamu.org/story/25/05/...