Recent retailer, pharmaceutical opioid settlements total nearly $11B

Opioid settlements overview: 

• Who: Walmart, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and Teva Pharmaceuticals recently agreed to opioid-related settlements. 
• Why: The pharmacies made the settlements, which collectively total nearly $11 billion, to resolve claims revolving around their roles in exacerbating the nationwide opioid epidemic. 
• Where: The settlements are nationwide. 

Some of the nations’ largest pharmacies, including Walmart, CVS and Walgreens, made settlements recently to resolve claims they helped exacerbate the nationwide opioid epidemic. 

The opioid settlements total nearly $11 billion and end allegations the pharmacies made the opioid epidemic worse with the way they prescribed painkiller medication to consumers across the country. 

Walmart agrees to pay $3.1 billion to end claims it exacerbated opioid epidemic

Walmart confirmed earlier this week that it agreed to pay $3.1 billion to resolve more than 2,000 claims from cities, states and Native American tribes that its nationwide pharmacy network exacerbated the opioid epidemic. 

The big-box retailer, which continues to deny any wrongdoing, reportedly agreed to the settlement to also avoid future complaints potentially brought against it by government entities. 

The settlement agreement includes $2.4 billion that will go toward addiction and other related treatment along with $325 million that will go toward costs, attorney fees and previous opioid settlements. 

Walmart also agreed to pay nearly $215 million last month to resolve claims brought by Florida’s attorney general that it exacerbated the opioid crisis in the state.

The agreement included a total of $188 million toward “opioid remediation,” nearly $7.8 million toward a common benefit fund and more than $19 million that will go toward litigation-related costs. 

Walmart also agreed to voluntarily begin training its pharmacists with so-called “empowerment programs” and incorporate policies related to the responsible disbursement of opioid medication to its patients.  

CVS settles claims revolving around its role in nationwide opioid epidemic 

Also this month, CVS Pharmacy agreed to a settlement with the Cherokee Nation that will resolve claims the pharmacy contributed to an opioid epidemic within the Oklahoma reservation. 

The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission announced the settlement agreement Sept. 30, with the details reportedly remaining confidential for now. 

The opioid settlement agreement resolves claims brought against CVS Pharmacy that go back to December 2017, with the Cherokee Nation alleging its members made up a large number of the 3,300 people who died from overdoses at its northeast Oklahoma reservation from 2003 to 2017. 

CVS, along with Walgreens, was also part of a proposed $10 billion settlement this month made to resolve claims they exacerbate the nationwide opioid crisis with their sale of prescription opioids. 

CVS and Walgreens agreed to pay around $5 billion each to resolve thousands of claims, with CVS agreeing to pay over the course of 10 years and Walgreens agreeing to pay over the course of 15 years. 

Teva agrees to pay $523 million to end claims it played role in nationwide opioid epidemic

Teva Pharmaceuticals, meanwhile, agreed to pay $523 million this month to resolve claims it played a role in fueling the nationwide opioid epidemic. 

It made the opioid settlement to end claims brought against Teva by New York Attorney General Letitia James and ended yearslong litigation led by James against a number of opioid distributors and manufacturers. 

“You cannot put a price on lives lost, addiction suffered and families torn apart, but with the more than $2 billion we have now delivered to New Yorkers, we can continue to rebuild and recover,” James said in a statement. 

CVS, Walmart, Walgreens given temporary reprieve by Ohio federal judge

A federal judge gave Walmart, along with CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens, a temporary reprieve last month from having to uphold business practice requirements imposed on them after they were found liable for exacerbating the opioid crisis in a pair of Ohio counties. 

The Ohio federal judge suspended the injunction against Walmart, CVS and Walgreens while the three pharmacies reportedly continue to appeal the verdict made against them. 

CVS, Walmart and Walgreens had been ordered to adopt various practices and policies to ensure they would not be able to overwhelm communities with prescription opioids. 

Have you been affected by the nationwide opioid epidemic? Let us know in the comments. 

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