New York to get $116M for opioid prevention, recovery programs from the $3.1B Walmart settlement

New York communities will receive $116 million for prevention and recovery programs from the $3.1 billion Walmart is paying to settle claims it failed to regulate opioid prescriptions at its U.S. stores, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Tuesday.

Walmart becomes the latest major drug industry player to promise major support to state, local and tribal governments still grappling with a crisis in overdose deaths.

The retail giant's announcement follows similar proposals on Nov. 2 from the two largest U.S. pharmacy chains, CVS Health and Walgreen Co., which each said they would pay about $5 billion.

James, joined by more than a dozen other state attorneys general, in a statement Tuesday said: “Pharmacies such as Walmart played an undeniable role in perpetuating opioids’ destruction, and my fellow attorneys general and I are holding them accountable.”

Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart said in a statement that it "strongly disputes" allegations in lawsuits from state and local governments that its pharmacies improperly filled prescriptions for the powerful prescription painkillers. The company does not admit liability with the settlement, which would represent about 2% of its quarterly revenue.

"Walmart believes the settlement framework is in the best interest of all parties and will provide significant aid to communities across the country in the fight against the opioid crisis, with aid reaching state and local governments faster than any other nationwide opioid settlement to date," the company said in a statement.

The settlement includes court-ordered requirements with which Walmart must comply, including robust oversight to prevent fraudulent prescriptions and flagging suspicious prescriptions.

So far, New York has received $2.1 billion in opioid settlements from drugmakers, all of which must be spent aiding New Yorkers “impacted by the opioid crisis,” James said.

The attorney general added: “You cannot put a price on lives lost and communities destroyed, but with the $2.1 billion we have delivered to New York, we will continue to recover, rebuild, and strengthen our defenses against future devastation.”

Localities could join the deal as soon as the first quarter of next year, James said, saying she and the other attorneys general were “optimistic that the settlement will gain support of the required 43 states by the end of 2022.”

All told, the opioid crisis has been linked to more than 500,000 U.S. deaths over the past two decades. Other major drugmakers and distributors have already finalized settlements in some cases.

The share of Walmart's proposed settlement going to Native American tribes is $78 million, to be divided among all the federally recognized tribes, said Robins Kaplan, a law firm representing tribes.

After governments used funds from tobacco settlements in the 1990s for purposes unrelated to public health, the opioid settlements have been crafted to ensure most of the money goes to fighting the crisis. State and local governments are devising spending plans now.

With AP