(Lincoln, NE) -- Nebraska is set to get millions of dollars from a nationwide settlement from Wal-Mart over the opioid crisis.
On Tuesday, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson announced a settlement with Walmart to resolve allegations that the company contributed to the opioid addiction crisis by failing to appropriately oversee the dispensing of opioids at its stores. Peterson's office says the settlement will provide over $3 billion nationally with more than $11 million going to Nebraska’s Opioid Recovery Fund and participating cities and counties throughout Nebraska. In October, states confirmed that settlement negotiations were also well underway with Walgreens and CVS. Peterson's office says Nebraska and other states, together with local governments, continue their efforts to achieve final settlement with both CVS and Walgreens.
The Attorney General's office says although Walmart filled significantly fewer prescriptions for opioids then CVS or Walgreens, since 2018 Walmart has been the most proactive in trying to monitor and control prescription opioid diversion attempted through its pharmacies. “We recognize that to the families who have lost a love one caused by an opioid addiction that started with a pain prescription, these settlements can provide little solace,” said Attorney General Doug Peterson. “Our hope, however, is that these funds can help support strong opioid addiction treatment programs throughout our state so that we can significantly reduce opioid use disorder in Nebraska.”
The parties are optimistic that the settlement will gain support of the required 43 states by the end of 2022, allowing local governments to join the deal during the first quarter of 2023. In addition to Nebraska, Attorneys General from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Tennessee, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, California, Louisiana, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Texas have served as the lead negotiators on this settlement with Walmart.