00:00It's Benzinga, bringing Wall Street to Main Street.
00:02CVS Pharmacy and its subsidiaries agreed to pay $315 million to settle a Justice Department
00:08lawsuit alleging the company unlawfully dispensed medically unnecessary opioid prescriptions,
00:13according to the Associated Press. The 2024 lawsuit accused CVS of filling illegitimate
00:18prescriptions for high doses of addictive opioids, including those issued by known pill mills.
00:23Federal officials allege that poor staffing, performance metrics, and incentive policies
00:28pressured pharmacists to fill prescriptions without verifying their legitimacy.
00:32Some prescriptions were reimbursed through Medicaid and other federal health care programs.
00:36CVS denied wrongdoing and said it strongly disagreed with the allegations.
00:40The settlement requires additional safeguards to ensure controlled substances are dispensed
00:44only when medically appropriate. Drug makers, pharmacies, and other companies have agreed
00:49to more than $50 billion in opioid-related settlements over the past decade.
00:53For all things money, visit Benzinga.com.
