Walgreens will have to pay out more money connected to its alleged role in the country’s opioid crisis, this time in Nevada where the company has agreed to pay a $285 million settlement.
Walgreens Boots Alliance will pay the amount over a 15-year span, and the settlement was the last of a series of settlements Nevada has processed during the last couple of years. This case brings the state’s opioid claim total to $1.1 billion. Just over $98 million of that money will be placed in a fund to help finance opioid recovery programs through the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Opioid settlements in the U.S. now total about $50 billion, according to Fortune
The Nevada case marks the third settlement for the Northbrook, Ill.-based company within the last three months. In May, Walgreens settled with the city of San Francisco for $230 million, and last month both Walgreens and CVS agreed to pay just over $17 billion in a multistate opioid settlement.
The settlements come at a time when Walgreens is struggling to stay afloat financially. During its Q3 financial call last week, the company said its adjusted operating income is at $3.2 billion — a drop of over 26% on a constant currency basis.
The fiscal hardship, combined with a shift in focus to a more direct involvement in patient care, has forced Walgreens to close 150 stores in the coming months. Two waves of layoffs have led to just over 900 employees being dismissed.
