(Reuters) - The Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, is offering to increase their financial contribution to a bankruptcy settlement of opioid lawsuits, while agreeing to some exposure to future litigation, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Some family members who own the OxyContin maker have agreed to raise their total contribution to approximately $6.5 billion, up from $6 billion under a previous plan, the report said, citing people with knowledge of confidential mediation discussions.

Purdue Pharma, along with the members of the wealthy Sackler family, is at the center of multiple lawsuits filed by state and local governments, alleging that the company fueled a deadly opioid-addiction crisis in the U.S. through deceptive marketing of its pain medication, OxyContin.

Over the past twenty years, the opioid crisis in the United States has resulted in more than 500,000 people succumbing to opioid overdoses.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement of up to $6 billion, which would have shielded Sackler family members from lawsuits over their role in the opioid epidemic.

Purdue Pharma and representatives of the Sackler family did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The proposed settlement would provide compensation to all claimants from Purdue, WSJ reported. Additionally, the Sackler family would offer a separate settlement in exchange for the claimants releasing all opioid-related claims against family members.

Claimants who opt out of the settlement would still have the option to pursue litigation against the Sacklers if they choose to do so, the report added.