Members of the state’s Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board want greater insight into how New York is spending hundreds of millions of dollars flowing in from court agreements with companies accused of fueling the nationwide opioid crisis. The board approved a motion last week, specifically calling on New York City, Suffolk County and Nassau County to release more data on their opioid settlement expenditures. Board member Joyce Rivera, CEO of St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction in the Bronx, slammed the opacity as “exasperating” as she introduced the motion at Wednesday’s meeting. The Office of Addiction Services and Supports, which administers the state’s opioid settlement fund, publicly tracks its own disbursements — totaling more than $335 million through mid-May. However, not all of the money New York is getting from the various settlements flows through the OASAS-administered fund. For example, in some court cases, specific municipalities were co-litigants alongside the state and directly received their own settlement proceeds. New York City, for its part, has received at least $90.6 million and spent at least $30 million, according to a spending report issued in June that covers the 2023-2024 fiscal year. But board members said they have yet to get a more recent update from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. “We’re absolutely committed to transparency,” Department of Health and Mental Hygiene spokesperson Rachel Vick told POLITICO, adding that the June analysis “reports everything that’s been asked of us to date.” The board’s motion comes at an inflection point for statewide opioid settlement spending. State data show the flow of opioid settlement funds dropping off precipitously starting in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, leaving board members with tough choices to make about how to best allocate a narrowing stream of funds. "We will not be able to continue to fund all of the things that have been funded or that currently are funded," OASAS Commissioner Chinazo Cunningham said during last week’s advisory board meeting. "Decisions will have to be made about what continues and what does not continue." IN OTHER NEWS: — Mount Sinai International has inked a 10-year collaboration with Ramaiah Memorial Hospital in Bengaluru, India, to advance clinical excellence, enhance patient safety, quality of services and further medical innovation and technology. Szabi Dorotovics, president of Mount Sinai International, said Mount Sinai will provide Ramaiah with expert clinical consulting services to develop Ramaiah’s hospital-wide quality and patient safety systems, as well as specialty-specific support for its cardiology, oncology, neuroscience, uro-oncology and nephrology departments. Mount Sinai International is the health system’s company that handles consulting agreements and co-branded products and services with public and private institutions abroad. Existing collaborators include Taikang Healthcare in China and the Centro Médico Jerovia, a medical center under development in Paraguay. ON THE AGENDA: — Tuesday at 10 a.m. NYC Health + Hospitals’ board of directors hosts a public audit committee meeting. MAKING ROUNDS: — Rebecca Linn-Walton was named assistant commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Care, and Treatment. — Bobbie Hangen has been appointed executive director of the Community Health Independent Practice Association. GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
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