CVS, Walgreens Announce $10B Opioid Settlement

The tentative settlement will not be final until enough states and localities sign off on it.

CVS Health and Walgreen Co. announced agreements in principle Wednesday to pay about $5 billion each to settle lawsuits nationwide over the toll of opioids, and a lawyer said Walmart is in discussions for a deal.

Together, the developments amount to what could be the last round of huge settlements after years of litigation over the drug industry’s role in an overdose epidemic that has been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades.

In the lawsuits, governments said pharmacies were filling prescriptions they should have flagged as inappropriate.