Delaware will receive almost $12 million in a multi-billion-dollar opioid settlement with Walmart.
Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Tuesday Delaware reached the settlement, resolving allegations the company contributed to the opioid addiction crisis.
Walmart’s role was the failure to appropriately oversee the dispensing of opioids at its stores.
The settlement requires Walmart to provide $3.1 billion nationally to provide treatment and recovery services. Delaware will receive 11.8 million of those settlement dollars.
The settlement also has court-ordered requirements including oversight to prevent fraudulent prescriptions and flag suspicious prescriptions.
“Delaware has made real progress in the fight against substance use disorder, but families from Claymont to Selbyville are still paying the costs of the opioid epidemic,” said Jennings in a statement. “My office’s mission is to secure accountability for the families of this state: first from the manufacturers and distributors who brought opioids into our communities, and now from the retailers and pharmacies that sold them. This $3.1 billion agreement will change Walmart’s practices, and it will change lives across this country."
The settlement still needs to gain the support of 43 states involved. Officials are optimistic that will happen by the year.
Delaware was one of 16 states that served as lead negotiators on this settlement.
Settlement negotiations are ongoing with Walgreens and CVS.
