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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