Major retailer Walmart has agreed to pay $3.1 billion to settle allegations that it did little to rein in suspicious prescriptions of opioids, helping fuel a nationwide epidemic.
The $3.1 billion multistate settlement framework, announced Tuesday, includes court-ordered requirements for the retailer, including beefed up oversight and enforcement to flag suspicious prescriptions of opioids.
“Pharmacies such as Walmart played an undeniable role in perpetuating opioids’ destruction, and my fellow attorneys general and I are holding them accountable,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James in a statement.
As part of the framework, Walmart has agreed to court-ordered requirements to increase oversight to prevent fake prescriptions of opioids and to flag any suspicious orders, according to Connecticut’s attorney general office in a statement.
Walmart said in a statement that it has also agreed to reduce the number of opioids dispensed and increase access to drugs that can reverse overdoses. It also aims to educate and empower pharmacists and protect against “diversion and theft,” Walmart added.
Walmart, for its part, denied the allegations and said the framework does not include any “admission of liability.”
The company added it will fight any lawsuit that is not resolved through the framework, which still needs to get approval among the 43 states that are part of the settlement.
States have also confirmed they are engaged in “promising” talks with other retail pharmacies Walgreens and CVS.
This is the latest settlement for Walmart surrounding the opioid epidemic. Back in August, a federal judge ruled that the retail giant as well as Walgreens and CVS had to pay $650 million to two Ohio counties for their role in fueling the opioid crisis.
The ruling, which the pharmacies had promised to appeal, included a requirement for the pharmacies to install hotlines for anonymous tips of improper sales.