States are getting $50 billion in opioid cash. And it's an issue in governor's races

Last year, more than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses. Advocates and family members marked the tragic toll with cardboard grave markers on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 23. (Aneri Pattani/KFF Health News)

Opioid settlement cash is not inherently political. It's not the result of a law passed by Congress nor an edit to the state budget. It's not taxpayer money. Rather, it's coming from health care companies that were sued for fueling the opioid crisis with prescription painkillers.

But like most dollars meant to address public health crises, settlement cash has nonetheless turned into a political issue.