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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced plans to enter into over a $5 billion multi-state settlement with CVS Pharmacy for its role in contributing to the nationwide opioid epidemic.
This continues a trend that started in 2021 when Paxton announced a similar $26 billion agreement with major pharmaceutical manufacturers Cardinal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Johnson and Johnson. This agreement has been used as the framework for agreements with other pharmaceutical companies including Allergen, Teva, and CVS. All of these agreements were struck between a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general and the respective companies while including reparative payments as well as "significant industry changes that will help prevent this type of crisis from ever happening again."
A CVS Pharmacy sign is shown in Mount Lebanon, Pa., on Monday, May 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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"We have reached an agreement in principle to settle the case on financial terms. The Texas portion of the settlement funds ($276M) will be used in accordance with SB 1827, which requires the Comptroller and the Opioid Council to distribute the funds for prevention, intervention and abatement services," a spokesman for Paxton told Fox News Digital.
Under the agreement, states have 30 days to decide whether to join the settlement with the specific amount of money received varying based on how many cities and counties within the state participate.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"Millions of Americans have died or are sick due to the opioid epidemic. While significant work remains, a broad coalition of states reached certain terms with CVS, and we are hopeful that we will be able to reach a final agreement on all terms," Paxton said. "Pharmaceutical companies that have been at the root of the problem must be involved in not only changing their business practices to keep this tragic epidemic from taking more lives in the future, but also by providing treatment for those currently still struggling with opioid addiction."
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Regarding the changes in pharmaceutical practices, a spokesman for Paxton told Fox News Digital, "The parties are still negotiating industry-specific structural reforms, which will focus on changes in the way pharmaceutical companies market their products and ways to provide treatment for those currently battling opioid addiction."
Tablets of the opioid-based Hydrocodone displayed at a pharmacy in Portsmouth, Ohio, on June 21, 2017. (Reuters/Bryan Woolston)
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With the $237 million from CVS, Paxton has secured $2.37 billion for the state of Texas via agreements with pharmaceutical companies. Texas cooperated with California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee in negotiations.
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