A Settlement to Resolve the U.S. Opioid Abuse Susceptibilities: CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens
Walgreens and rival CVS Health Corp. finalized last month a settlement with state and local governments to resolve lawsuits related to opioid abuse. More than half a million people have died from overdoses in the US in the last two decades.
In a statement, lawyers for local governments said that the agreements will equip communities across the country with the necessary tools to fight back against the epidemic. The companies have committed to making significant improvements to their practices to reduce addiction moving forward, in addition to payments totaling billions of dollars.
“We are pleased to resolve these longstanding claims and putting them behind us is in the best interest of all parties, as well as our customers, colleagues and shareholders,” Thomas Moriarty, CVS chief policy officer and general counsel, said in a statement. “We are committed to working with states, municipalities and tribes, and will continue our own important initiatives to help reduce the illegitimate use of prescription opioids.”
The companies have introduced educational programs, installed safe disposal units for drugs in stores and police departments, as well as other measures to reduce misuse of the drug.
In New York and across the nation, communities mourn family, friends and loved ones lost to the opiate crisis, says New York Attorney General Letitia James. “Though we cannot reverse the devastation, my fellow attorneys general and I are committed to holding those who allowed this epidemic to run rampant through our country to account.”
Most of the country’s overdose deaths started with prescription drugs. Drugs became more deadly due to people addicted to them switch to heroin as governments, doctors, and companies took steps to make them harder to abuse and obtain.
If the proposed settlement is approved, it will involve up to $6 Billion in cash, plus the value of the company, and will be turned into a new entity which will fight the epidemic with the profits made from the sale of prescription drugs. A court put that plan on hold.
Walgreens Inc. Earnings from a U.S. Distribution Network in April–July 2011 Reassessment
Pennsylvania will get about $450 million, California will get $510 million and New York will get $458 million from the settlement.
Sales from Walgreens’ U.S. pharmacies slid 3% to $27.2 billion compared to last year’s quarter. A rush of COVID-19 vaccinations and testing helped results last year, and currency exchange rates hurt in the recent quarter.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. runs a network of around 13,000 drugstores globally. Most of the locations are in the United States. The stores have become a growing source of care.
The company is working with VillageMD to open primary care practices next to some locations with the idea that drugstores and doctor offices work together to help keep patients healthy. drugstores are still the main business.
Walgreens said Thursday it still expected adjusted earnings to be in the $4.45 to $4.65 per share range. That’s the same forecast the company laid out in October.
The price of Walgreens’ stock dropped last year. That tripled the nearly 9% decline of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, of which Walgreens is a component.