Kroger Agrees to Pay $1.2 Billion to Settle Opioid Claims

The News

The grocery chain Kroger stated on Friday it had agreed to pay about $1.2 billion to states, native governments and Native American tribes to settle claims that its retail pharmacies performed a task in fueling the opioid disaster.

Kroger, which was accused of improperly monitoring prescriptions of extremely addictive painkillers stuffed in its retailer pharmacies, stated it will pay the settlement over 11 years, starting in December. The firm stated that authorized charges, which will probably be paid over six years, would add $177 million to the overall.

Kroger stated that it was not admitting wrongdoing by reaching the settlement.

Background: Pharmacy chains have been settling opioid claims.

Kroger is the most recent in a rising group of pharmaceutical producers, distributors and pharmacy chains which have agreed to massive settlements with state and native governments that accused them of seeding a public well being catastrophe.

Three massive pharmacy chains that compete with Kroger — Walgreens, CVS Health and Walmart — reached related settlements final 12 months totaling about $13 billion. Another, Rite Aid, has not but introduced a nationwide settlement.

The claims in opposition to Kroger and its rivals have centered on the position of their pharmacies in flooding communities with authorized painkillers. In lawsuits in opposition to Kroger, the attorneys basic in Washington State and West Virginia accused them of failing to analyze overprescribing and of withholding knowledge from their pharmacists that would assist them safely dispense the drugs.

Why It Matters: Opioid settlement cash is funding restoration efforts.

As different opioid settlement funds have begun to be disbursed, states, municipal governments and Native American tribes have stated they’re utilizing the cash to fund providers for opioid abuse victims and to purchase medication to reverse opioid overdoses.

The legal professional basic of North Carolina, Josh Stein, who helped lead the negotiations with Kroger, stated in a press release on Friday that Kroger’s settlement “will help save lives, and we will make sure these companies can’t repeat their mistakes.”

What’s Next: A grocery mega merger.

Kroger, which operates shops in numerous components of the nation beneath grocery manufacturers like Harris Teeter and Ralphs, has been attempting to finish a merger with one other chain, Albertsons, introduced final 12 months. Kroger stated on Friday that the opioid settlement settlement wouldn’t impede the merger.

Kroger stated on Friday that it deliberate to divest greater than 400 shops, primarily in Western states, in an effort to assuage issues from antitrust regulators.

Jan Hoffman contributed reporting.