BALTIMORE, MD—Walgreens reached a $300 million settlement with the federal government over allegations that the pharmacy chain filled millions of unlawful opioid prescriptions, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Walgreens and its subsidiaries reached a $300 million settlement with the Justice Department, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
The allegations claimed Walgreens violated the Controlled Substances Act and the False Claims Act by filling millions of unlawful opioid prescriptions and then seeking payment for those prescriptions through Medicare and other federal health care programs.
Walgreens’ ability to pay determines the settlement amount. The company will owe the U.S. an additional $50 million if it is sold, merged, or transferred before the 2032 fiscal year, according to the news release.
The government’s complaint alleged that from August 2012 through March 2023, Walgreens filled millions of unlawful controlled substance prescriptions, including prescriptions for excessive amounts of opioids, opioid prescriptions filled too early and prescriptions for the “trinity,” a dangerous combination of three drugs.
The complaint alleged that Walgreens pressured pharmacists to fill prescriptions quickly without confirming their lawfulness. Walgreens’s compliance officials allegedly disregarded substantial evidence of unlawful prescriptions, intentionally deprived pharmacists of crucial information, and prevented pharmacists from warning each other about problematic prescribers.
This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.
Photo by Alex Green from Pexels
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