Maryland will have nearly $100 million of opioid settlement funds to spend in 2025. The state’s Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council is finalizing its recommendations on how it believes the money should best be spent.

In its latest meeting, the council is considering suggestions like expanding its mobile health clinics, improving transportation to drug recovery clinics and exploring new ways to build a safety net for people with opioid use disorder.

“We know that we need to do more, and we want to just make sure we're increasing access to substance care use to reach people in every demographic,” said Emily Keller, Maryland’s special secretary of opioid response. “We're really trying to use data to inform our decision.”

This summer, the Maryland Department of Health released a drug overdose dashboard. Keller said the board wants the state to use the localized information to better place services.

The council is also considering a Ryan White model for opioid health coverage. The Ryan White model coordinates primary care, drugs and other treatments in one program for people with HIV.

The Maryland Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council was created to help the state best spend the settlement funds it received from opioid manufacturers and distributors like Walmart and Walgreens.

The state is set to receive about $250 million over the next 15 years.