Last fall, we revealed that Maine was paying the global consulting firm McKinsey more than $7 million on a no-bid contract to “consult” with the state labor department on fixing the unemployment system. Earlier this week, we updated our story: the state extended that no-bid contract for another $1.2 million.

Today, we learned that the Maine Attorney General, pictured below, was suing that same company, McKinsey, for its involvement in promoting opioid use and expanding the devastating opioid epidemic.

Maine, in joining a lawsuit along with 47 states, reached a $573 million settlement with McKinsey & Company for its role in “turbocharging” the opioid epidemic with Purdue Pharma, according to a statement from the AG’s Office.

As we noted on Monday, McKinsey’s COVID work with states has come under scrutiny by watchdog organizations and media outlets, including ProPublica, the Wall Street Journal and the Seattle Times.

Today’s revelation from our own AG’s Office about McKinsey’s role in profiting off those suffering with opioid addiction should raise new concerns about McKinsey’s latest actions to profit off of COVID through multiple no-bid contracts with state agencies that produce few—if any—results for taxpayers or citizens.

Now that the opioid case is settled, we suggest  Maine’s Attorney General take a closer look at McKinsey’s more recent efforts to make a profit in our state, right now totaling more than $9 million.