Walgreens will pay up to $350 million in a settlement with the Justice Department for filling invalid prescriptions for controlled substances.
The DOJ, the DEA, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) wrote in a release on the case that Walgreens “illegally filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and then sought payment for many of those invalid prescriptions by Medicare and other federal healthcare programs in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA).”
The settlement is based on Walgreens’s ability to pay, the release noted. “Walgreens will owe the United States an additional $50 million if the company is sold, merged, or transferred prior to fiscal year 2032.”
According to the DOJ, the illegal prescriptions included those for “excessive quantities of opioids, opioid prescriptions filled significantly early, and prescriptions for the especially dangerous and abused combination of three drugs known as a ‘trinity.'” Pharmacists allegedly filled the prescriptions despite having indicators that suggested the prescriptions were “invalid because they lacked a legitimate medical purpose or were not issued in the usual course of professional practice.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that “pharmacies have a legal responsibility to prescribe controlled substances in a safe and professional manner, not dispense dangerous drugs just for profit. This Department of Justice is committed to ending the opioid crisis and holding bad actors accountable for their failure to protect patients from addiction.”
A Walgreens spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News that it disagrees with the government’s “legal theory and admit no liability.”
“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,” the spokesperson said.
