Three major pharmacy names will have to fork over hundreds of millions of dollars to two Ohio counties for their roles in the opioid epidemic, a judge has ruled.
The payout is one of the largest in the numerous lawsuits launched against drug manufacturers, providers and pharmacies across the country from states and individuals impacted by the opioid crisis, which has ravaged the U.S. over the past several years and accounted for thousands of deaths. The judgment is also the first time retail pharmacies have been forced to settle for their contributions to the epidemic.
Federal Judge Dan A. Polster, of United States District Court in northern Ohio, ruled CVS Health, Walgreens and Walmart owe the Lake and Trumball counties of northern Ohio a combined $650.5 million. Ohio has been hard hit by the opioid epidemic, and opioid overdose became the leading cause of injury death in 2007 by overtaking motor vehicle crashes for the first time ever, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
The $650.2 million verdict comes after a jury found in November the companies dispensed mass quantities of opioids in the state and ignored signs the pills were being abused, The New York Times reported. According to Polster, pharmacies are responsible for one-third of the amount Lake and Trumball counties need to address the pandemic. Drug manufacturers and distributors bear the rest of the responsibility.
CVS Health recently settled another lawsuit from Florida to the tune of $484 million owed to the state for the opioid crisis there. CVS will pay out the amount over 18 years, and the decision settled any other opioid claims against CVS in the state. Retail pharmacies are not the only ones facing major lawsuits. Purdue Pharma, maker of Oxycontin, declared bankruptcy and reached a settlement to pay out $6 billion to various states for its responsibility in the overdose crisis, which has claimed more than half a million lives over the past 20 years.
“These companies are rending the fabric of society apart,” Mark Lanier, lawyer for Lake and Trumball counties, told media outlets. “They should not only show remorse, they should show they need to rectify what they’ve done. And they won’t do it. So the judge is doing it.”
Walgreens denied wrongdoing on its part.
“We never manufactured or marketed opioids nor did we distribute them to the ‘pill mills’ and internet pharmacies that fueled this crisis,” spokesperson Fraser Engerman told the NY Times.
CVS Health indicated it would appeal the decision, and a Walmart spokesperson took issue with the notion that pharmacies should second guess doctors’ decisions. The money will be paid over 15 years in installments to the two Ohio counties, and the three companies must comply with a set of monitoring and reporting rules within 90 days regarding how they dispense opioids and identify issues.
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."