Current:Home > MyCVS and Walgreens agree to pay $10 billion to settle lawsuits linked to opioid sales -MarketEdge
CVS and Walgreens agree to pay $10 billion to settle lawsuits linked to opioid sales
View
Date:2025-04-23 17:41:09
CVS and Walgreens have agreed to pay more than $10 billion to several states in a settlement of lawsuits brought against them alleging their roles in the opioid crisis.
CVS would pay nearly $5 billion over 10 years, while Walgreens would pay $5.7 billion over 15 years, according to statements released by state attorneys general.
"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 November statement.
However, neither company has admitted to wrongdoing.
States have until Dec. 31 to accept the settlements. If they do so, local governments will then have the option to acquire a portion of the compensation. Several state attorneys general have announced their intent to accept, including Pennsylvania, New York, California, Oregon, Massachusetts and North Carolina.
California is expected to get about $510 million from the settlement, Pennsylvania will receive about $450 million and New York will get about $458 million.
Payments should be distributed around the second half of 2023.
"In New York and across the nation, communities continue to mourn family, friends and loved ones lost to the opioid crisis," New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday. "Though we cannot reverse the devastation, my fellow attorneys general and I are committed to holding those who allowed this epidemic to run rampant through our country to account."
In total, corporations have had to pay $54 billion in settlements. Walmart agreed last month to pay more than $3 billion to states, while four pharmaceutical companies – Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — agreed to pay $26 billion in February.
Deaths from opioid drug overdoses were 8.5 times higher in 2020 than in 1999. More than 564,000 people died from opioid drug overdoses during that time period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The opioid crisis began in the 1990s with prescription opioids, while 2010 marked an increase in deaths from heroin, and 2013 sparked the prevalence of synthetic opioids, namely fentanyl, the CDC said.
veryGood! (88)
Related
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- We Finally Know the Plot of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling's Barbie
- Atmospheric Rivers Fuel Most Flood Damage in the U.S. West. Climate Change Will Make Them Worse.
- Employers are upping their incentives to bring workers back to the office
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Two and a Half Men's Angus T. Jones Is Unrecognizable in Rare Public Sighting
- Two Farmworkers Come Into Their Own, Escaping Low Pay, Rigid Hours and a High Risk of Covid-19
- Tina Turner's Cause of Death Revealed
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Today’s Dylan Dreyer Shares Son Calvin’s Celiac Disease Diagnosis Amid “Constant Pain”
Ranking
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- People with disabilities aren't often seen in stock photos. The CPSC is changing that
- Parkinson's Threatened To Tear Michael J. Fox Down, But He Keeps On Getting Up
- Missing sub pilot linked to a famous Titanic couple who died giving lifeboat seats to younger passengers
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Journalists: Apply Now for the InsideClimate News Mountain West Environmental Reporting Workshop
- South Carolina Has No Overall Plan to Fight Climate Change
- Teen volleyball player who lost her legs in violent car crash sues city of St. Louis and 2 drivers involved
Recommendation
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
North Carolina's governor vetoed a 12-week abortion ban, setting up an override fight
Could Exxon’s Climate Risk Disclosure Plan Derail Its Fight to Block State Probes?
Ophelia Dahl on her Radcliffe Prize and lessons learned from Paul Farmer and her youth
Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
#BookTok: Here's Your First Look at the Red, White & Royal Blue Movie
The Lighting Paradox: Cheaper, Efficient LEDs Save Energy, and People Use More
As Covid-19 Surges, California Farmworkers Are Paying a High Price