Walgreens Boots Alliance has agreed to pay $300 million to settle claims that it unlawfully filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances.
In its complaint, the Justice Department, along with other federal agencies, alleges that for more than a decade pharmacists at the second largest pharmacy chain in the U.S. knowingly filled prescriptions of controlled substances, despite clear signs of their illegitimacy. It also claims that Walgreens pressured its workers to fill the prescriptions quickly without regard for proper legal protocols.
“These practices allowed millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of Walgreens stores,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the DOJ’s Civil Division in a January statement.
Included in those prescriptions, the government says, were “excessive quantities of opioids” and prescriptions for “trinity” which is a triple-drug combination of opioids, benzodiazepines and muscle relaxants.
The Justice Department filed its original lawsuit against the national drugstore chain on Jan. 16, claiming that Walgreens dispensed unlawful prescriptions and then sought reimbursement for the drugs from Medicare and other federal health care programs. In doing so, the agency said Walgreens violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)— which regulates the distribution of regulated substances — and the False Claims Act (FCA).
Walgreens has over 8,000 pharmacies across the United States.
“We strongly disagree with the government’s legal theory and admit no liability,” a spokesperson for Walgreens told CBS MoneyWatch in an email Monday. “Our pharmacists are dedicated health care professionals who care deeply about patient safety and continue to play a critical role in providing education and resources to help combat opioid misuse and abuse across our country.”
If Walgreens had been found liable, it could have been fined up to $80,850 for each prescription filled in violation of the CSA, according to January statement from the Department of Justice.
After the Walgreens settlement was reached, the U.S. government dismissed its complaint against the company and said that the drugstore chain would also drop a declaratory judgment action it filed at a district court in Texas.
More than 700,000 people in the United States have died of opioid overdoses since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. President Trump has cited illegal flows of fentanyl and migrants as the main reason behind his 20% fentanyl tariff on China and 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada.
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