Wv Lawmakers Seek Control Of Drug Settlement Funds

By Eric Eyre West Virginia lawmakers want the final say over how to spend $24 million from recent lawsuit settlements with some of the nation's largest prescription drug distributors. The House of Delegates plans to take a final vote this week on a bill (HB 2428) that would use all of the settlement proceeds to provide 600 extra beds at private drug treatment facilities across the state. A separate bill (HB 3028) - passed by the full House Monday -- would take a portion of the funds and add 100 beds for recovering addicts in West Virginia by July 2018 West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office, the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety (DMAPS) each received $8 million from a settlement with drug wholesalers Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.