Allen Siegler, mental health reporter at Mississippi Today, has been named a finalist for the 2025 National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Awards for his investigation into how Mississippi officials spent the state’s opioid settlement funds.
In September, Siegler’s Black Box series investigation found that Mississippi spent less than 1% of over $124 million the state had received so far on measures that would prevent more overdose deaths. Since 2000, more than 10,000 Mississippians have died as a result of opioid use.
Siegler earned a spot among 42 finalists from local, state and national news outlets from across the country through the competition judged by independent panels and hosted by the NIHCM Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that relies on evidence and collaboration to explore issues in health care and policy research.
“These stories and studies represent the best of health care journalism and policy research – work that brings to light important stories and strengthens the evidence base on the nation’s most pressing health care challenges,” said Andrew Dreyfus, CEO and President of the NIHCM Foundation, in a released statement.
It is an honor for his newsroom’s work to be recognized in this way, Siegler said, but he finds the moment bittersweet.
“At the same time, it’s devastating to find that financial resources intended to be life saving for Mississippians struggling with addiction, like Chelsea Aultman Sadler, went unspent or for other purposes when they were needed most,” Siegler said.
After his investigation’s initial launch, Siegler has continued to cover how Mississippi lawmakers and officials award contracts and respond to the overdose crisis.
“As recent events at the Legislature show, the Black Box reporting by itself is not enough to guarantee all funds will be spent for their intended purpose — to end one of the worst public health crises in modern history,” Siegler said. “But we will continue to advocate for truth and transparency around the settlements, while documenting how the most powerful Mississippians manage them.”
Winners will be announced in late April in Washington, D.C.
Each year since 2022, Mississippi has been paid tens of millions of opioid settlement dollars, money that is supposed to help respond to the overdose public health crisis. But 15% of those dollars — the money controlled by the state’s towns, cities and counties — is unrestricted and being spent with almost no public knowledge. Mississippi Today spent the summer finding out how almost every local government receiving money has been managing the money over the past three years.
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