Two national pharmacies will be doling out billions as part of ongoing investigations and litigations against the pharmaceutical industry for its role in the national opioid crisis.
CVS and Walgreens will pay $10.7 billion, with North Carolina receiving more than $1 billion in the payout, the attorney general’s office announced Monday.
“This crisis is unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” Attorney General Josh Stein said in a press release. “It’s the deadliest drug epidemic in American history. Too many people have died and too many more have had their lives torn apart.”
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services estimates more than 28,000 people have died from opioid overdoses across the state between 2000 and 2020.
CVS will pay $5 billion and Walgreens will pay $5.7 billion.
The financial settlement also includes Walmart, which agreed in November to pay $3.1 billion.
All three entities also are altering business practices, as ordered by the court. The companies must monitor, report, and share data relating to “suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions.”
The payments have been staggered to help provide support immediately and sustained over time. The majority of Walmart’s payout is scheduled for the first of 2023. CVS will pay its amount over 10 years, with Walgreens disbursing payments over 15 years.
Nearly all of the settlement funds are required to help remediation efforts toward the opioid crisis. This includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services.
The agreement terms will be sent to all states for review, each allowed to join until the end of the year. According to the release, “Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS agreements will go to local governments around the country for sign-on during the first quarter of 2023.”
Should other states join, payments would also be distributed in the second half of 2023, the release noted.
Negotiations were overseen by attorney generals nationwide, from North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas.
“I know that because of these agreements, more people will be alive, healthy, and happy in the coming years than otherwise would have been,” Stein continued in the release.
The pharmacies are the latest in over a dozen industries Stein and others nationwide have been holding accountable for profiting off of the health crisis. Stein said it brings the total for North Carolina to more than $50 billion.
In 2021, two payouts agreements came to fruition: $573 million from a multi-state settlement with McKinsey & Company for its role advising opioid companies in promotion of the addictive drugs. Nearly $19 million will be paid to North Carolina over five years.
As well Purdue Pharma — which went bankrupt and barred the Sackler family from practicing in the pharmaceutical industry — was ordered to pay $4.5 billion. An estimated $100 million will be allocated to North Carolina.
In February 2022, Stein finalized $26 billion in settlements with three pharmaceutical distributors, Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, as well as Johnson & Johnson. $750 million is slated for North Carolina.
Last month, an additional $6.6 billion was agreed upon, to be paid out by opioid makers Teva and Allergen. At least $118 million paid to North Carolina over 13 years.
To see the scheduled payments statewide, check out the AG’s data dashboard.
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