CVS to pay $315M settlement over allegations of illegally filling opioid prescriptions

The Justice Department (DOJ) announced Tuesday that CVS Health has agreed to pay $315 million to settle lawsuits alleging the company illegally filled prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit first filed in 2019 by former CVS employee Hillary Estright in 2019 under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which allows private parties to sue on behalf of the U.S. It also settles the ensuing 2024 complaint that the federal government fi le d against CVS Health.

Allegations against the pharmacy chain included claims that it knowingly filled prescriptions for controlled substances that had no legitimate medical purpose, were not valid or were not issued through common professional practices. CVS Health’s corporate performance metrics allegedly encouraged these actions to enhance profit.

The settlement agreement does not serve as an admission of guilt by CVS Health or a reversal of the federal government’s argument that there were well-founded claims against the company.

“Today’s settlement requires CVS to implement additional safeguards to ensure that prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances are dispensed only when medically appropriate,” DOJ Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said in a statement.

Shumate continued, “The remedial measures in this agreement — including proactive monitoring of opioid prescribing patterns — will provide critical protections for patients and federal healthcare programs. The Department of Justice will continue to take steps to prevent the unlawful dispensing of opioids.”

Several other major retailers have agreement to opioid-related settlements in recent years including Walgreens and Kroger, as well as Walmart this past August . CVS previously agreed to pay $4.9 billion to states and other political subdivisions after facing over 3,000 individual lawsuits in 2022.

CVS Health maintains that it disagrees with the federal government’s allegations.

“Our more than 27,000 CVS pharmacists do their part to help keep America healthy and are highly trained in the safe and appropriate use of all medications. We’ve implemented best-in-class and first-of-their-kind programs to help our pharmacists make the best decisions on behalf of patients,” CVS Health said in a statement Tuesday.

“We strongly disagree with the claims made in this case, and our settlement with the DOJ admits no wrongdoing. We’re pleased to move forward and put this litigation behind us,” the company added.