Walmart has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve federal allegations that its pharmacies illegally filled thousands of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances, ending a major federal case that dates back nearly six years.
The Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration announced the settlement on August 28. The government had accused Walmart of violating the Controlled Substances Act through actions involving both individual pharmacists and members of the retailer’s corporate compliance team.
The settlement doesn’t include a determination that Walmart is liable for the alleged conduct. Walmart told Reuters that it was pleased to resolve the matter and said it would continue supporting its pharmacists and their work providing patient care.
DOJ Says Walmart Filled Prescriptions Despite Warning Signs
The government’s complaint was originally filed on December 22, 2020, and amended in 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
According to the Justice Department’s settlement announcement, the government alleged that Walmart had filled invalid prescriptions since June 26, 2013, through the knowing actions of individuals on its corporate compliance team and pharmacists working in its stores.
Federal officials alleged that members of Walmart’s compliance team knew certain prescribers were operating as “pill mills” but that invalid prescriptions written by those prescribers were filled anyway.
Walmart’s own pharmacists had raised concerns about problematic prescribers through thousands of internal “refusal-to-fill” forms, according to DOJ.
The government cited an internal email in which a compliance-team director said that rather than devoting additional effort to analyzing refusal-to-fill information, “[d]riving sales and patient awareness” was a better use of certain employees’ time.
Pharmacists Allegedly Encountered Red Flags
The government’s allegations weren’t limited to the actions of Walmart’s corporate compliance operation.
DOJ also alleged that Walmart pharmacists filled controlled-substance prescriptions they personally knew were invalid.
Federal officials said some prescriptions came from prescribers known as “pill mills,” while others presented warning signs that should have raised concerns about whether they were being issued for a legitimate medical purpose.
Those alleged red flags included dangerous combinations of opioids, combinations or “cocktails” involving opioids and non-opioid medications, repeated fills of high-dose and frequently abused opioids, and repeated requests to fill frequently abused controlled substances early.
The DEA said pharmacies have a responsibility to identify and prevent unlawful dispensing because illegitimate opioid prescriptions can put patients and communities at risk and undermine safeguards designed to prevent misuse and diversion.
Walmart Must Pay $50 Million and Adopt New Safeguards
The settlement requires Walmart to pay $50 million to resolve the federal allegations.
The retailer has also entered into a memorandum of agreement with the DEA establishing future requirements for how its pharmacies handle controlled substances.
Among those requirements, Walmart must establish a hotline that employees and patients can use to report suspected illegal dispensing of controlled substances.
The company must also proactively monitor dispensing patterns across its pharmacies to identify and address potentially illegal activity and establish a process for evaluating prescribers suspected of illegal prescribing.
DEA Assistant Administrator Cheri Oz said the agreement establishes compliance obligations intended to strengthen safeguards and help prevent similar problems in the future.
The Federal Case Had Previously Been Narrowed
The $50 million agreement resolves litigation that had been underway since 2020, although the government’s original case was broader than the claims ultimately remaining before the settlement.
In March 2024, a federal judge narrowed the lawsuit, dismissing claims involving Walmart’s alleged failure to report suspicious prescriptions to the DEA and pharmacists’ alleged failure to document certain prescription red flags.
The court allowed other claims to continue, including allegations that pharmacists dispensed prescriptions that Walmart compliance personnel knew were invalid and that pharmacists themselves knowingly dispensed invalid prescriptions.
Walmart did not admit liability as part of the $50 million resolution.
In a statement reported by Reuters after the settlement was announced, Walmart said it was pleased to resolve the matter and would continue supporting the work its pharmacists perform for patients.
The Settlement Ends the Case Without a Finding of Liability
The federal government characterized the agreement as part of its broader enforcement of laws governing pharmacies that dispense opioids and other controlled substances.
The case involved attorneys from the Justice Department’s Civil Division as well as U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Delaware, North Carolina, Florida and New York.
For consumers, the settlement doesn’t mean that every opioid or controlled-substance prescription filled at a Walmart pharmacy was improper. The government’s allegations concerned specific dispensing and compliance practices over a period beginning in 2013.
The Justice Department also emphasizes an important legal distinction: the claims resolved by the settlement remain allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Going forward, the most visible consumer-facing change required by the agreement may be the new reporting hotline, which will allow both Walmart employees and patients to report suspected illegal dispensing of controlled substances.
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Amanda Blankenship is the Chief Editor for District Media. With a BA in journalism from Wingate University, she frequently writes for a handful of websites and loves to share her own personal finance story with others. When she isn’t typing away at her desk, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, son, husband, and dog. During her free time, you’re likely to find her with her nose in a book, hiking, or playing RPG video games.