United States — Walmart Inc. 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, the U.S. Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration announced Friday, Aug. 28.
The allegations stem from a federal complaint originally filed in 2020 and amended in 2022. The government alleged that, beginning in 2013, members of Walmart’s compliance team knew certain prescribers were operating as “pill mills,” while invalid prescriptions from those prescribers continued to be filled.
Federal officials also alleged that Walmart pharmacists filled prescriptions despite warning signs that included dangerous drug combinations, repeated high-dose opioid prescriptions and repeated requests for early refills of commonly abused controlled substances.
As part of the settlement, Walmart has also entered into an agreement with the DEA addressing future controlled-substance dispensing practices.
The agreement requires Walmart to:
• Establish a hotline for employees and patients to report suspected illegal dispensing
• Proactively monitor pharmacy dispensing patterns for potentially illegal activity
• Establish a process for evaluating prescribers suspected of illegal prescribing
The Justice Department emphasized that the settlement resolves allegations only and that there has been no determination of liability.