The Kroger Co. has agreed to pay Kentucky $110 million to settle a lawsuit filed final yr alleging it pumped tens of millions of doses of opioids into the state over the course of greater than a decade.
Kentucky Legal professional Basic Russell Coleman (R) introduced the settlement Thursday, saying the cash was fee for Kroger’s “role in the devastating drug crisis.”
“Kroger and its more than 100 pharmacies across Kentucky were responsible for roughly 444 million opioid doses coming into our Commonwealth over a 13-year period. That’s more than 100 opioid doses for every man, woman and child in Kentucky,” Coleman stated.
Coleman filed the lawsuit in opposition to Kroger in February 2024, alleging the grocery chain had failed to watch for suspicious opioid orders and had additionally fulfilled opioid prescriptions in violation of Kentucky state legislation.
In keeping with the announcement of the settlement, half of the settlement will probably be distributed amongst Kentucky’s counties and cities based on a “pre-determined formula,” whereas the opposite half will probably be entrusted to the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Fee.
In 2022, Kentucky ranked seventh amongst U.S. states and D.C. when it comes to drug overdose mortality charges, with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention discovering the state had a overdose mortality fee of 53.2 per 100,000.
“We’re happy to have reached a settlement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and we hope the funds will probably be used to fight opioid abuse within the area,” a Kroger spokesperson stated in an announcement to The Hill.
“However, the claims that Kroger did not have internal training or guardrails around filling prescriptions for opioids are patently false,” based on the assertion. “The company has long provided associates throughout the pharmacy with robust training, as well as tools to assist pharmacists in their professional judgement, including, being the first major retail pharmacy to integrate state prescription drug monitoring directly into our pharmacy system.”
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