$3.1 Billion Settlement with Walmart over Opioid Epidemic Allegations Announced by Attorney General Jeff Landry
Published 2:37 pm Tuesday, November 15, 2022
- Attorney General Jeff Landry
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BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced today a settlement with Walmart to resolve allegations that the company contributed to the opioid addiction crisis by failing to appropriately oversee the dispensing of opioids at its stores. The settlement will provide $3.1 billion nationally which must be used to provide treatment and recovery services to people struggling with opioid use disorder. It also includes broad, court-ordered requirements, including robust oversight to prevent fraudulent prescriptions and flag suspicious prescriptions.
“Too many of our neighbors have buried their loved ones throughout the opioid epidemic, and too many other families in Louisiana remain devastated by the crisis,” said Attorney General Landry. “For these people and all impacted by the opioid epidemic, my office and I will continue working hard to hold accountable companies that have created and fueled the crisis.”
In October, states confirmed that settlement negotiations were underway with CVS and Walgreens. Louisiana and other states, together with local governments, continue their efforts to achieve a final settlement with both CVS and Walgreens.
“Walmart has filled significantly fewer prescriptions for opioids than CVS or Walgreens, and they have been proactive for the last few years in trying to monitor and control prescription opioid diversion,” explained Attorney General Landry. “Additionally, Walmart has worked with law enforcement in Louisiana and helped to try removing bad actors in our State’s medical industry.”
The parties are optimistic that the Walmart settlement will gain support of the required 43 states by the end of 2022, allowing local governments to join the deal during the first quarter of 2023.
Attorney General Landry joined the attorneys general of North Carolina, Nebraska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas as the lead negotiators on this settlement with Walmart.
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