Drug distributors strike $300 mln opioid settlement with US health plans

31/8/2024 7:40

        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 , Cencora Inc and Cardinal Health Inc 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."