Drug distributors strike $300 mln opioid settlement with US health plans
Adds further details on settlement in paragraphs 3-7
By Nate Raymond
Aug 30 (Reuters) -The three largest U.S. drug distributors have agreed to pay $300 million to resolve claims by health insurers and benefit plans that they helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic, according to court papers filed on Friday.
The proposed class action settlement with McKesson Corp MCK.N, Cencora Inc COR.N and Cardinal Health Inc CAH.N was disclosed in a filing in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio, and requires a judge's approval.
Those companies had previously agreed to pay $21 billion to resolve claims by state and local governments accusing them of having lax controls that allowed massive amounts of addictive painkillers to be diverted into illegal channels.
Paul Geller, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement that Friday's deal covered third-party payers like union funds that "largely paid for the overprescribed and overmarketed pills and for the treatment required when their plan beneficiaries inevitably suffered opioid use disorder."
The distributors did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The $300 million will be paid 38.1% by McKesson, 30.9% by Cardinal and 31% by Cencora, which was previously known as AmerisourceBergen.
The case was among thousands that have been filed seeking to hold various drug makers, distributors and pharmacies responsible for a drug addiction epidemic that resulted in hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths nationally over the last two decades.
The litigation has resulted in more than $50 billion in settlements, largely with states and local government.
Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
