Bipartisan coalition of attorneys general secures over $10 billion in opioid funds from CVS and Walgreens

Dec. 12, 2022 (DENVER)—Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced that he has finalized agreements with CVS and Walgreens for their roles in the opioid crisis. Under today’s agreements, CVS will pay $5 billion, and Walgreens will pay $5.7 billion, totaling $10.7 billion nationwide. Colorado’s share of funds from these settlements is over $150 million.

“I am proud to have help lead the effort to secure more than $10 billion from these two drug store chains. The companies that helped create and fuel the opioid crisis need to step up to fix it. That means providing significant resources to increase treatment and recovery services and changing their business practices to make sure this never happens again,” Weiser said. “All in, Colorado will receive more than $700 million from national opioid settlements to save lives and help the people in our state experiencing opioid addiction recover.”

In addition to the financial settlement, CVS and Walgreens, along with Walmart earlier, have agreed to court-ordered injunctive relief that requires the pharmacies to monitor, report, and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions. This court-ordered injunctive relief will help ensure a crisis like this does not happen again.

The terms of this agreement now go to the states for their review. Each state has until the end of 2022 to join, after which the Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS agreements will go to local governments around the country for sign-on during the first quarter of 2023. Colorado will join the agreement. All settlement funds Colorado receives will be distributed according to the same opioid framework agreed to by the State and Colorado’s local governments in August 2021, and funds must be used to address the opioid crisis, including prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services.

The payments are structured to ensure critical support in early years as well as sustained resources over time. Most of Walmart’s amount will be paid during the first year; CVS’s payments will be spread over 10 years; Walgreens’ payments will be spread over 15 years. If there is sufficient sign-on, payments will begin during the second half of 2023.

Colorado is slated to receive more than $700 million from national opioid settlements with drug manufacturers, distribution companies, and the pharmacies.

The negotiations were led by Attorneys General from North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas.

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