Walmart set to pay $50M to settle Justice Department lawsuit alleging unlawful opioid prescriptions

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice, along with the Drug Enforcement Administration, announced a $50 million settlement with Walmart over claims that the retailer's pharmacies illegally filled invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances. The government's initial complaint, filed in 2020 and amended in 2022, alleged that Walmart filled invalid prescriptions, and that Walmart's compliance team knew of the behavior of certain prescribers but filled the invalid prescriptions anyway. The government also alleged that Walmart pharmacists would fill prescriptions they knew were invalid, and that the pharmacists knew that they were invalid because they were either written by a known "pill mill" prescriber or contained dangerous combinations of opioids. Some of Walmart's pharmacists, the lawsuit alleged, would report the conduct to Walmart's own compliance team. The government alleges that these reports were ignored. In addition to the settlement, Walmart also entered into a memorandum of agreement with the DEA. This agreement requires Walmart to establish a hotline for employees and patients to report suspected illegal dispensing of controlled substances. A spokesperson for Walmart said that the company is happy that the case is being resolved. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV