Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million to settle allegations from the U.S. Department of Justice, which accused the pharmacy chain of unlawfully filling millions of prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances over the past decade. The settlement requires Walgreens to pay at least $300 million, with an additional $50 million to be owed if the company is sold, merged, or transferred before 2032.
The government’s complaint, filed in January in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claims that Walgreens knowingly filled millions of illegal prescriptions for controlled substances between August 2012 and March 2023. These included prescriptions for excessive amounts of opioids and those filled much earlier than legally allowed.
A Walgreens spokesperson, Fraser Engerman, stated that the company strongly disagrees with the government’s legal theory and does not admit to any liability. However, he emphasized that the settlement resolves all opioid-related litigation with federal, state, and local governments, providing Walgreens with favorable terms as they focus on their business recovery.
Walgreens has been struggling with declining store visits and a shrinking market share. In October, the company announced plans to close 1,200 stores across the country. Similarly, Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in late 2023, facing both financial losses and opioid-related lawsuit settlements. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a similar lawsuit against CVS in December.
The complaint alleged that Walgreens pharmacists filled prescriptions despite clear signs that many were likely invalid, and the company pressured its pharmacists to fill these prescriptions quickly. Furthermore, Walgreens is accused of ignoring substantial evidence that its stores were filling unlawful prescriptions and withholding critical information about opioid prescribers from its pharmacists. The company allegedly sought payments for many of these invalid prescriptions through Medicare and other federal healthcare programs, violating the False Claims Act.
As part of the settlement, Walgreens has agreed to improve its compliance with controlled substance dispensing regulations. The company will maintain policies to ensure pharmacists verify the validity of controlled substance prescriptions and implement a system to block prescriptions from doctors who issue illegitimate ones. Walgreens also agreed to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish a compliance program, including training, oversight, and regular reporting on controlled substance dispensing.
The settlement also resolves four cases brought by former Walgreens employees who acted as whistleblowers. In 2022, CVS and Walgreens reached a multi-state settlement agreement worth over $10 billion related to lawsuits about the opioid crisis. Over the last eight years, drugmakers, wholesalers, and pharmacies have collectively agreed to more than $50 billion in settlements, with most funds allocated to fighting the opioid epidemic.
