Walmart Agrees to Pay $50M to Settle DOJ Opioid Prescription Claims; WMT Stock in Focus
Walmart Inc. has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve federal allegations that its pharmacies filled thousands of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances, U.S. officials announced Friday.
The settlement, announced by the Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration, stems from a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware in December 2020. Prosecutors accused Walmart’s compliance staff and pharmacists of knowingly filling prescriptions that were not valid under the Controlled Substances Act, with conduct dating back to 2013.
According to the government, Walmart pharmacists flagged thousands of suspect prescriptions in internal “refusal-to-fill” reports. The flags included orders associated with so-called pill-mill doctors and warning signs such as risky drug combinations, repeated high doses and early refills. Despite those red flags, the Justice Department alleged, Walmart’s compliance staff often allowed the prescriptions to be filled anyway, putting sales ahead of patient safety.
“Federal pharmacy rules exist to protect the public, and profit cannot justify conduct that fuels the opioid epidemic,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement.
Under the deal, Walmart also signed a DEA memorandum of agreement requiring an employee-and-patient hotline, monitoring of pharmacy dispensing patterns and a process to evaluate suspected illegal prescribers. The settlement resolves allegations only, and there has been no finding of liability.
The agreement is the latest chapter in Walmart’s long-running opioid litigation. The company paid smaller Controlled Substances Act settlements in 2007 and 2008, signed a 2011 DEA compliance agreement and later faced lawsuits from states, cities and tribes. In 2022, Walmart paid $3.1 billion to resolve most public opioid claims without admitting liability, plus $150 million to New Mexico and $65 million to West Virginia. The $50 million federal settlement is a separate case.
WMT stock closed Friday up 0.45% and traded roughly flat in after-hours action. The shares are down about 7% so far this year. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around WMT remained bullish over the past 24 hours, while message volume declined from high to normal levels.