CVS, Walgreens settle opioid lawsuits for $10B
CVS Health and Walgreens announced they have settled all lawsuits against them for their roles in the opioid abuse epidemic and will pay a combined $10 billion.
CVS Health will pay $5 billion over the next 10 years, including $4.9 billion to states and political subdivisions and approximately $130 million to tribes. The payment will begin in 2023. The agreement settles all lawsuits and claims against the company by states, political subdivisions and tribes in the United States. The agreement resolves claims dating back a decade and is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing.
“We are pleased to resolve these longstanding claims and putting them behind us is in the best interest of all parties, as well as our customers, colleagues and shareholders,” Thomas Moriarty, chief policy officer and general counsel of CVS Health, said in a statement. “We are committed to working with states, municipalities and tribes, and will continue our own important initiatives to help reduce the illegitimate use of prescription opioids.”
Walgreens also agreed to settle all lawsuits and claims against it and will pay $4.95 billion over 15 years remediation. Similar to CVS Health, the settlement includes no admission of wrongdoing or liability by the company. Walgreens also noted that it has also taken other actions to mitigate the opioid abuse crisis, including making Naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal medication, available in all its nearly 9,000 pharmacy locations, providing ongoing education of safe opioid use and deploying technology to ensure pharmacists are dispensing prescriptions written for a legitimate medical purpose.
“As one of the largest pharmacy chains in the nation, we remain committed to being a part of the solution, and this settlement framework will allow us to keep our focus on the health and wellbeing of our customers and patients, while making positive contributions to address the opioid crisis,” Walgreens said in a statement. “We believe this is in the best interest of the company and our stakeholders at this time, and allows our pharmacists, dedicated healthcare professionals who live and work in the communities they serve, to continue playing a critical role in providing education and resources to help combat opioid misuse and abuse.”
Walgreens and CVS Health are among many companies that have been hit with huge lawsuits from many governments and localities for their respective roles in the opioid crisis. Nearly 92,000 people died in the U.S. from overdose in 2020, including illicit drugs and opioids, according to the National Institutes of Health. Opioids were involved in 68,630 overdose deaths in 2020 (74.8% of all drug overdose deaths), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Other major healthcare companies have also settled lawsuits for their roles in the opioid epidemic over the past few years, including Johnson & Johnson, Walmart and Purdue Pharma. Walgreens and CVS Health have also already agreed to pay out millions in other settlements to certain states.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."