(CNBC) A group of state attorneys general unveiled on Wednesday a landmark, $26 billion settlement resolving claims that the three largest U.S. drug distributors and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson helped fuel a deadly nationwide opioid epidemic.
Under the settlement proposal, distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen are expected to pay a combined $21 billion, while Johnson & Johnson would pay $5 billion.
The money from the distributors will be paid out over the next 18 years. J&J will pay over nine years, with up to $3.7 billion paid during the first three years.