© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Missouri Attorney General Says Opioid Settlement Money Would Include Rural Areas

Attorney General Eric Schmitt spoke in Rolla with rural health care providers about opioid addiction
Jonathan Ahl | St. Louis Public Radio
Attorney General Eric Schmitt spoke in Rolla with rural health care providers about opioid addiction

ROLLA — If Missouri receives money from its lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, rural health care providers want to make sure they get some of those dollars to support underfunded opioid addiction services.

The Your Community Cares Rural Health Coalition invited Attorney General Eric Schmitt and representatives from the U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis to Rolla on Friday to talk about the programs and how they are underfunded.

Coalition members laid out statistics and anecdotal evidence of the challenges rural counties face in helping people suffering from opioid addiction. They include a lack of health care providers, high levels of poverty and low population density as factors that have led most opioid services to be clustered in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas.

Schmitt said he understands the needs are great in rural areas. 

“What we’ve learned from that is that we want to be as proactive as possible in making sure whatever resources come down, either by way of a verdict or by way of settlement, to communities and to people that need it,” Schmitt said.

Missouri, like most states, is seeking damages from opioid manufacturers that flooded the market with addictive medicine. Schmitt said the state would be willing to go to trial but would rather see a settlement so money can get to victims as quickly as possible.

Schmitt said that could happen as early as this year. A trial and subsequent appeals could drag that timeline out for years, Schmitt said.

Federal prosecutors are also bringing suits against so-called pill mills and unscrupulous doctors.

After hearing the stories of rural health care providers, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Becker said the goals are clear.

“We need to get people the help that they need and make sure that’s available to anyone who would benefit from it. And it doesn’t discriminate; it’s not urban versus rural. It’s getting everyone,” Becker said.

In the meantime, the Your Community Health Coalition says it’s continuing to maximize grant money and other resources with programs like a mobile unit that can travel around rural counties, and having recovering addicts meet with people in jail.

The attorney general is also operating a website, RealOpioidPain.com, where people affected by the opioid crisis can share their stories. Schmitt said those stories could be part of the state’s case against opioid manufacturers.

Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @JonathanAhl

Send questions and comments about this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Jonathan Ahl joined Iowa Public Radio as News Director in July 2008. He leads the news and talk show teams in field reporting, feature reporting, audio documentaries, and talk show content. With more than 17 years in public media, Jonathan is a nationally award-winning reporter that has worked at public radio stations in Macomb, Springfield and Peoria, IL. He served WCBU-FM in Peoria as news director before coming to Iowa. He also served as a part-time instructor at Bradley University teaching journalism and writing courses. Jonathan is currently serving a second term as president of PRNDI ââ
Jonathan Ahl
Jonathan Ahl reports from the Rolla Bureau for St. Louis Public Radio. His duties also include covering central and southern Missouri for Harvest Public Media. Before coming to St. Louis Public Radio in November of 2018, Jonathan was the General Manager for Tri States Public Radio in Macomb, Illinois. He previously was the News Director at Iowa Public Radio and before that at WCBU in Peoria, Illinois. Jonathan has also held reporting positions in central Illinois for public radio stations. Jonathan is originally from the Chicago area. He has a B.A. in Music Theory and Composition from Western Illinois University and an M.A. in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield. He is an avid long distance runner, semi-professional saxophonist and die-hard Chicago Cubs fan.