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Walgreens To Pay Up To $350M For Filling Illegal Opioid Prescriptions, Justice Department Says

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Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve claims that the company illegally filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances and asked for payment for many of those invalid prescriptions by Medicare and other federal healthcare programs.

The DOJ said a $300 million settlement is based on Walgreens' ability to pay and an additional $50 million will be owed if the company is sold, merged or transferred before fiscal year 2032.

"Pharmacies have a legal responsibility to prescribe controlled substances in a safe and professional manner, not dispense dangerous drugs just for profit," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. "This Department of Justice is committed to ending the opioid crisis and holding bad actors accountable for their failure to protect patients from addiction."

WALGREENS SUED BY DOJ, ALLEGING IT KNOWINGLY FILLED ILLEGAL PRESCRIPTIONS INCLUDING 'DANGEROUS' OPIOIDS

Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million to resolve claims that the company illegally filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The company was accused of filling millions of invalid prescriptions between August 2012 and March 2023 in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, according to the government's complaint. These included prescriptions for excessive numbers of opioids and opioid prescriptions filled significantly early.

Walgreens pharmacists allegedly filled these prescriptions despite signs suggesting a high likelihood that the prescriptions were invalid because they lacked a legitimate medical purpose or were not issued in the usual course of professional practice, the DOJ said.

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The DOJ said a $300 million settlement is based on Walgreens' ability to pay and an additional $50 million will be owed if the company is sold, merged or transferred before fiscal year 2032. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The complaint also claims that Walgreens pressured its pharmacists to fill prescriptions quickly and without taking time to confirm that each prescription was legal. Walgreens' compliance officials also allegedly ignored evidence that its stores were dispensing illegal prescriptions and even intentionally deprived its own pharmacists of necessary information, including by refusing to share internal data about prescribers with pharmacists and preventing pharmacists from warning one another about certain prescribers.

The federal government said the lawsuit and resulting settlement were part of efforts to address the national opioid epidemic that has led to tens of thousands of deaths each year.

"This settlement resolves allegations that, for years, Walgreens failed to meet its obligations when dispensing dangerous opioids and other drugs," Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Granston of the Justice Department's Civil Division said. "We will continue to hold accountable those entities and individuals whose actions contributed to the opioid crisis, whether through illegal prescribing, marketing, dispensing or distributing activities."

Walgreens was accused of filling millions of invalid prescriptions between August 2012 and March 2023 in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. (iStock / iStock)

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Walgreens said it "strongly" disagrees with the government's legal theory and admits no liability.

"Our pharmacists are dedicated healthcare 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," Walgreens said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"This resolution allows us to close all opioid-related litigation with federal, state, and local governments and provides us with favorable terms from a cashflow perspective while we focus on our turnaround strategy that will benefit our team members, patients, customers, and shareholders," the statement continued.

Walgreens To Pay $300 Million To Settle Claims It Illegally Filled Invalid Opioids Prescriptions

Walgreens Boots Alliance has agreed to pay $300 million to settle claims that it unlawfully filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances.

In its complaint, the Justice Department, along with other federal agencies, alleges that for more than a decade pharmacists at the second largest pharmacy chain in the U.S. Knowingly filled prescriptions of controlled substances, despite clear signs of their illegitimacy. It also claims that Walgreens pressured its workers to fill the prescriptions quickly without regard for proper legal protocols.

"These practices allowed millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of Walgreens stores," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the DOJ's Civil Division in a January statement.

Included in those prescriptions, the government says, were "excessive quantities of opioids" and prescriptions for "trinity" which is a triple-drug combination of opioids, benzodiazepines and muscle relaxants.

The Justice Department filed its original lawsuit against the national drugstore chain on Jan. 16, claiming that Walgreens dispensed unlawful prescriptions and then sought reimbursement for the drugs from Medicare and other federal health care programs. In doing so, the agency said Walgreens violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)— which regulates the distribution of regulated substances — and the False Claims Act (FCA). 

Walgreens has over 8,000 pharmacies across the United States.

"We strongly disagree with the government's legal theory and admit no liability," a spokesperson for Walgreens told CBS MoneyWatch in an email Monday. "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."

Survery for opioid-free relief from back pain is one step closer to FDA approval 02:31 If Walgreens had been found liable, it could have been fined up to $80,850 for each prescription filled in violation of the CSA, according to January statement from the Department of Justice.  After the Walgreens settlement was reached, the U.S. Government dismissed its complaint against the company and said that the drugstore chain would also drop a declaratory judgment action it filed at a district court in Texas. More than 700,000 people in the United States have died of opioid overdoses since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. President Trump has cited illegal flows of fentanyl and migrants as the main reason behind his 20% fentanyl tariff on China and  25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada.  More from CBS News DOJ rescinds policy against seizing journalists' records in leak cases Judge in Idaho murders case makes ruling on death penalty How health will be hurt by cuts at the nation's medical research agency Trump admin fast-tracks fossil fuel projects, angering environmentalists DOGE's $160 billion in savings have cost $135 billion, analysis finds Mary Cunningham Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Before joining the business and finance vertical, she worked at "60 Minutes", CBSNews.Com, and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.

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