CVS agrees to pay $315 million to settle Justice Department case over opioid prescriptions

CVS Pharmacy and various subsidiaries have agreed to pay $315 million to resolve a Justice Department case involving the unlawful dispensing of medically unnecessary prescriptions for addictive opioids. According to Investing.com, the lawsuit alleged that since 2013, CVS filled prescriptions for opioids and other narcotics in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act and sought payment from federal healthcare programs like Medicare in violation of the False Claims Act.

Forbes added that the department claimed CVS improperly filled these prescriptions and billed federal healthcare programs.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought in 2024 that accused the company of providing massive amounts of controlled substances to fuel profits at the expense of public health and safety, according to MedPage Today and PBS NewsHour Health. As part of the agreement, CVS will work with the Drug Enforcement Administration to establish processes for monitoring potentially illegal dispensing and evaluating doctors suspected of illegally prescribing opioids, Investing.com reported.

CVS stated that it strongly disagrees with the claims and that the settlement admits no wrongdoing. MedPage Today reports that the company previously stated its pharmacists were being held to vague and changing standards of practice, while CVS maintained that its pharmacists are trained in the safe use of medications and utilize programs to make patient decisions.

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward described the settlement as a significant milestone in the Justice Department's efforts to combat the opioid epidemic by cracking down on pharmacies.

Brief written by urgent.news from PBS NewsHour Health, MedPage Today, Forbes, Investing.com, The Hindu — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.