CVS, Walgreens, Walmart Settle Opioid Lawsuits: What It Means In FL

FLORIDA — More money to fund overdose treatment programs, recovery services and other responses to opioid abuse will soon be headed to Florida under a tentative agreement Wednesday with CVS and Walgreens to pay about $10 billion to local, state and tribal governments to resolve thousands of lawsuits claiming their pharmacies mishandled prescriptions for opioid painkillers.

Walmart is still negotiating its deal, but Reuters reported the settlement under discussion was in the $4 billion range.

A majority of plaintiffs still must approve the settlements. Walgreens and CVS both agreed to pay about $5 billion each, and Walmart agreed to pay about $3.1 billion, Reuters and The New York Times reported.

The tentative agreements reached Wednesday could be the last after years of litigation over the drug industry’s role in the opioid overdose crisis that has been linked to more than 500,000 U.S. deaths since 1999, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Provisional CDC data for 2021 shows opioid overdose deaths increased from an estimated 70,029 in 2020 to 80,816 in 2021. Overdose deaths from synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, and psychostimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine also continued to increase from 2020 to 2021.

More than 8,200 people in Florida died of drug overdoses from May 2021 to May 2022, according to the CDC, for a increase of 5.96 percent. Importantly, the data isn’t sorted by type of drug, but the CDC has said that 82 percent of overdose deaths involve synthetic opioids.

Large prescription opioid manufacturers and the three major drug distribution companies have already settled the lawsuits against them, but retail pharmacies have been slow to strike a deal with the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs argued the pharmacies should have flagged inappropriate prescriptions.

Florida will receive up to $440 million from CVS over 18 years, with a portion of the money being sent directly to Florida’s cities and counties, officials said. All these proceeds must be spent on opioid abatement, including prevention efforts, treatment or recovery services.

The state will receive up to $620 million from Walgreens over 18 years for opioid abatement, and up to $215 million from Walmart for prevention efforts, treatment or recovery services, the attorney general's office said.

After Florida reached $2.4 billion in settlements with other prescription drug manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies, Walgreens was the last company to settle with the state, WUWF reported.

“In fact, Florida is the first state in the nation to successfully conclude litigation against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said in May 2022. “This announcement brings the total funds secured, through all of our determined litigation efforts, to more than $3 billion for the state of Florida.”

Florida negotiated a $65 million settlement agreement with Endo Health Solutions Inc., a company that marketed opioid medications by downplaying the associated risk of addiction, according to Attorney General Ashley Moody. Endo also failed to monitor, report and negligently shipped suspicious orders of opioid medications, her office said.

Money from the settlement will be used on opioid abatement, including prevention efforts, treatment, or recovery services.