美国国家公共电台 NPR Architecture For Possible Nationwide Opioid Settlement Unveiled

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Attorneys who represent hundreds of towns, cities and states have a new plan to deal with the opioid crisis. They unveiled it today in a federal court in Ohio. It lays out, for the first time, how tens of billions of dollars in payments would be distributed if these lawsuits¹ against pharmaceutical² companies lead to big settlements. Brian Mann with North Country Public Radio has been following this story for a while. He's with me now.

Hi, Brian.

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE³: Hey. Good morning.

KING: OK. So there has been talk of a big, national settlement. People have compared it to the tobacco settlements of the 1990s. What is this opioid proposal?

MANN: Right, so what we're seeing here is really the architecture of how a big, global settlement might work if companies and all of these communities do reach a deal. And what we've been seeing is growing questions about who would get that money, how it would be distributed. Remember. There's a lot on the line here. This is life or death for cities and counties who are dealing⁴ with thousands and hundreds of thousands of drug-dependent residents. And they need money to fund rehab programs, recovery centers. And they think the drug industry should help pay for that. And remember. Household name companies like Johnson & Johnson, CVS, also manufacturers like Purdue Pharma - they made billions of dollars selling opioid pain medications that made sick and killed a lot of Americans.

KING: So if this plan is approved by the court, how would it work?

MANN: Right out of the gate, about 25,000 local governments around the U.S. would...

KING: Wow.

MANN: ...Be swept into a big pool of communities, right? This is big. And they would all be eligible⁵ for payouts. And also, they would get to vote on any settlements with drugmakers and distributors. And then within each of those local communities, they'd get to decide how all that money would be spent.

KING: And what does this mean for the drug companies?

MANN: Yeah, this is interesting. I talked with Joe Rice, one of the lead attorneys who's actually suing big pharma. And he says drug makers⁶ have been looking for a plan that gets them to final closure, that really ends this nightmare for the industry. Remember. This has already bankrupted one firm - Insys Therapeutics. And another, Purdue Pharma, has talked openly of filing for Chapter 11. So if this plan can convince enough of the country to sign off on a single global deal, it might convince more of these companies to reach a settlement.

KING: That's interesting - so some relief potentially on the part of the companies. Have you gotten any reaction from from any of the pharmaceutical companies yet?

MANN: We haven't gotten their voice on this yet. They're - this was just filed in Ohio. What we do know is that these companies have already begun to settle other opioid lawsuits around the country worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And also, the judge overseeing this huge case in Ohio - this largest consolidated⁷ case in the nation where this motion was filed - he's pushing the parties really hard to reach a deal. So I think this pressure on the industry is going to continue to grow. The Ohio case is scheduled to go to trial in October, so the clock there is ticking.

KING: And if a settlement is reached and if a plan like this is implemented⁸, what would it mean for this nationwide fight against opioid addiction⁹ - a very serious problem?

MANN: Yeah, I've been spending time in places like Summit County, Ohio, that are fighting to get ahead of this epidemic¹⁰. And they all say they don't have enough money. A lot of the work - it's pretty amazing. It's being done on a shoestring¹¹ with volunteers, and they need more programs to literally¹² keep people alive. Judge Bolster¹³, who's overseeing this opioid case in federal court, has said that delaying these payouts could mean more people overdosing, more people dying. So there's a lot on the line here.

KING: Very high stakes - Brian Mann of North Country Public Radio joining us by Skype.

Thanks, Brian.

MANN: Thank you so much.

1 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

2 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

6 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

10 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

11 shoestring   

n.小额资本；adj.小本经营的

参考例句：

• In the early years,the business was run on a shoestring.早年，这家店铺曾是小本经营。
• How can I take the best possible digital pictures on a shoestring budget?怎样用很小投资拍摄最好的数码照片？

12 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

13 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。