2,027 Meningitis Claims Approved

By Walter F. Roche Jr

A total of 2,027 claims have been approved for full or partial payment, according to a report from the administrator of a fund established to benefit victims of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
The report was filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, Mass. by Lynne F. Riley.
According to her report a total of 2,353 claims were filed and 283 were fully denied.
"All appeals have been resolved and all claim determinations have been finalized," the two-page report states.
Riley reported that a single claim was still pending because needed paperwork from a state Medicaid agency has yet to be submitted.
The report states that 1,924 victims have received initial payments while 1,902 have also received a second payment. Riley has stated that yet a third payment is expected but when that will come depends on actions by the IRS.
A total of $144,426,805 has been paid to date, Riley reported. The figure includes 283 payments made from separate funds earmarked for victims who were treated at specific clinics.
The 2012 outbreak was caused by fungus riddled steroids shipped from a now defunct drug compounding firm, the New England Compounding Center. At least 76 victims died and nearly 800 were sickened by the methylprednisolone acetate shipped to healthcare providers across the country.
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