Thursday, November 03, 2022

CVS, Walgreens announce opioid settlements totaling $10B. Really!

I don't have the time to investigate this settlement, but my hunch is that these two deep pocketed companies were scapegoated and shaken down by government and other parties!

Big Government: This might also be a blunt approach by various governments to enlist private companies to do their work and without legislative authorization!

E.g. what about the many doctors who (over) prescribed the pain killers? I guess, it is easier to sue two companies than thousands of doctors?

What did those governments do to prevent or reduce "inappropriate" prescriptions? Should we maybe not sue these governments for delinquency in this matter? 

"... Under the tentative plans, CVS would pay $4.9 billion to local governments and about $130 million to Native American tribes over a decade. Walgreens would pay $4.8 billion to governments and $155 million to tribes over 15 years. The exact amount depends on how many governments join the deals. ...
The deals, if completed, would end thousands of lawsuits in which governments claimed pharmacies filled prescriptions they should have flagged as inappropriate. ...
They also would bring the total value of all settlements to more than $50 billion, with most of it required to be used by state and local governments to combat opioids, which have been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the last two decades. ..."

CVS, Walgreens announce opioid settlements totaling $10B | AP News

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