Nearly two dozen organizations hoping to bolster harm reduction services in Baltimore are vying for funding through the state's Opioid Restitution Fund.
Out of 85 total applicants, 20 Baltimore-based entities submitted proposals to the Maryland Department of Health after it announced in June it was looking to use millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds to bankroll programs addressing the overdose crisis. However, the number of organizations aiming to provide services in the city could be higher, said department spokesman Chase Cook.
"There may be applicants who are outside Baltimore City but may intend to provide services in Baltimore City," Cook said in a statement. "Based upon our initial review there are 20 applicants for Baltimore City – although that may not reflect the caveat."
Cook declined to offer specific details about the applicants, as the department is actively reviewing their proposals. Mobtown Mag has submitted a public records request seeking copies of the applications.
The department will award organizations two years' worth of funding, with one additional year possible based on funding availability. A deadline for the approval process has not been set, Cook said.
Organizations could apply for up to $1 million each, and the department sought out programs that provide the following services:
- Naloxone or other FDA-approved drugs to reverse opioid overdoses
- Medication-assisted treatment distribution and other opioid-related treatment
- Pregnant and postpartum women
- Expansion of treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome
- Expansion of warm hand-off programs and recovery services
- Treatment for the incarcerated population
- Prevention programs
- Expansion of syringe services programs
Maryland created the restitution fund in 2019 in anticipation of hundreds of millions of dollars from settlements with pharmaceutical companies that contributed to the opioid epidemic.
State law requires that all money from the settlements be put into the fund, from which they are disbursed for opioid remediation programs.
So far, Maryland has received $84.1 million from settlements with opioid-related companies, according to an analysis by KFF Health News, and the state expects an estimated $311.2 million in payouts over the next 18 years.
With the state’s announcement of a $238 million settlement with Walmart, Walgreens, Teva and Allergan in February, Maryland’s total payout exceeds half a billion dollars.
Baltimore, the epicenter of the overdose crisis, has opted out of most of the state settlements. The city is therefore ineligible to receive funds from the state's coffers, but organizations in the city can still receive funding.
The state grants come on top of the money the city itself expects to receive from separate litigation against opioid manufacturers.
The city has opted to pursue litigation independently, which proved successful in June when it won $45 million from a settlement with Allergan – $20 million of which went to attorneys.
The city expects to go to trial next month with hopes of reaching a much larger settlement with numerous pharmaceutical giants, including CVS, Walgreens, and Johnson & Johnson.
The city is seeking nearly $12 billion, The Baltimore Sun reported this week, although the companies are attempting to get the lawsuit thrown out.
For more data about the overdose crisis in Baltimore and beyond, check out Mobtown Mag's Overdose Death Data Dashboard here.
Mayor Brandon Scott's administration has refused to comment on any opioid-related matters because of the litigation, and the city's health department has been plagued with high turnover among its top officials.
The funding opportunities, meanwhile, come as overdose deaths in Maryland dipped in 2023 as a part of a nationwide decline for the first time in five years – but Baltimore's annual death toll continued to climb.
While the state saw 2,513 deaths in 2023, a 2.5% decrease from the year prior, Baltimore had 1,045 deaths, an increase of 5.7%, according to the Maryland Department of Health.
More recent data, however, may show some hope for the city, even though it still has the highest death rate in the nation.
With 360 overdose deaths in Baltimore as of June, the city is on track to have fewer than 900 deaths by the end of the year – a number that would mark a notable drop but would require the death rate to remain steady despite an expected increase in fatalities during winter months.
In addition, the city saw 896 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in June, a significant decrease from previous periods.
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