Three national pharmacy chains—CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart--will pay Schuyler County up to $362,000 to settle claims the companies contributed to the ongoing opioid crisis in that county, under a settlement agreement to be voted on by the Schuyler County Legislature at its April meeting.
On Monday
(March 27), the county’s Management and Finance Committee, chaired by Watkins
Glen legislator Phillip Barnes, voted to recommend the settlement and
authorized Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman to execute the necessary
legal documents upon approval by the Schuyler County Legislature. The legislature will consider the measure on
Monday (April 10).
The county is
estimated to receive $125,031 from CVS, $158,486 from Walgreens and $79,038 from
Walmart, Getman said.
According to
Getman, the three companies all agreed to the settlement with the county as a
part of a nationwide agreement to resolve all opioid litigation brought by
states and local political subdivisions, including a pending lawsuit filed by
the county, as well as later claims brought by the New York State Attorney
General’s office. The agreement calls for the three chains to pay the county
over the next fifteen years, with payments expected to begin in late 2023.
Getman said
that the settlement funds can be used for a variety of purposes.
“Potential uses
include treating opioid addiction, law enforcement expenditures, funding social
services and similar anti-drug efforts,” Getman explained.
The proposed
settlement also orders the companies to implement changes to prevent
fraudulent prescriptions, Getman noted. Those changes include the companies addressing
their compliance structures, pharmacist judgment, diversion prevention,
suspicious order monitoring, and reporting on blocked and potentially
problematic prescribers.
If approved,
the agreement would be one of several opioid settlements Schuyler County has
been a part of over the past five years.
In 2021, the county legislature authorized Getman to accept up to $121,000 from Johnson & Johnson and
up to $546,000 from distributors McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc. and
Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation to treat, reduce and prevent opioid abuse. A similar agreement, for $41,000, was
obtained from defendant Actavis, Inc. in early 2022. In January, the county legislature authorized Getman to
accept up to $116,000 from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
If these latest agreements
are approved, the county will be in line to receive nearly $1.2 million total to
date for opioid prevention and remediation.
“One cannot put a price on lives lost and
families torn apart,” Getman said, “but with nearly $1.2 million expected to be
delivered to Schuyler County, we can provide our community with financial
assistance to continue this battle and hold these companies responsible for
their role in the opioid epidemic.”
The settlements stem from a 2018 lawsuit the
county filed against approximately thirty defendants, including some of the
biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry. The lawsuit alleged the
defendants had long known that opioids were addictive and subject to abuse,
particularly when used long-term for chronic non-cancer pain, and should not be
used except as a last-resort. However, the lawsuit stated, the defendants spent
hundreds of millions of dollars disseminating scientific materials and
advertising that misrepresented the risks of
long-term opioid use.
Schuyler County was one of many local
governments that filed lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of
opioid pain killers. At least 14 counties across New York sued the
pharmaceutical companies for fraudulent marketing practices.
After the counties sued, in March 2019, the
New York State Attorney General’s office brought its own lawsuit on behalf of
the state. In 2021, Attorney General Letitia
James championed legislation to create an opioid settlement fund and in 2022
she announced a tentative deal with CVS, Walgreens and Walmart that she says will
deliver over $13 Billion for communities nationwide to combat the opioid
crisis.
Schuyler County’s lawsuit against other
defendants remains pending, Getman said, with the possibility of more
settlements and additional funding to the county still to come.
The three companies involved in the latest proposed
agreement have each issued their own statements denying liability and
supporting settlement.
