CVS Pharmacy allegedly fueled and profited from the opioid epidemic by repeatedly dispensing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose.

Today, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it has filed a complaint in intervention in a whistleblower lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act (FCA) by Baron & Budd against CVS Pharmacy for their harmful opioid dispensing practices.

Adding to allegations made in the whistleblower lawsuit, the DOJ complaint alleges that CVS Pharmacy knowingly filled millions of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked a legitimate medical purpose, were not for a medically accepted indication, or were not issued in the usual course of professional practice. Due to this alleged conduct, taxpayer-funded healthcare programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare, which only cover the costs of valid prescriptions issued for legitimate medical purposes, ended up bearing the cost of these questionable prescriptions and paid substantial amounts of federal dollars to CVS pharmacies, in violation of the FCA.

DOJ’s intervention follows the complaint originally filed by Baron & Budd in 2019. That complaint, filed by a former CVS Pharmacy Manager whistleblower, alleged similar violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and FCA. The whistleblower pharmacist accused CVS of incentivizing and pressuring pharmacists to rush and fill prescriptions regardless of validity. On multiple occasions, the whistleblower raised concerns to the CVS district manager, but no action was taken.

In fact, the lawsuit alleges that when the pharmacist raised concerns either nothing was done, or she was pressured by the district manager to take on more opioid customers with the focus always being on increasing the script count for the store.

After the federal government investigated the whistleblower’s allegations, DOJ chose to intervene and take over the lawsuit in part. The DOJ intervening in the lawsuit signals a ramp-up in federal activity to rectify the opioid crisis and its efforts to combat healthcare fraud. This comes after the DOJ recently obtained a $409 million settlement in a similar whistleblower case against Rite Aid that was also filed by Baron & Budd.

“We are pleased that the DOJ has decided to intervene in this case and hold CVS accountable for the blatant violations of their duty to responsibly dispense controlled substances, which has led to an immeasurable amount of harm to customers and millions of taxpayer dollars spent on fraudulent prescriptions,” said Baron & Budd Shareholder Scott Simmer. “The greed of pharmacies has resulted in the largest public health crisis our country has seen with nearly every American touched in some way by the opioid epidemic.”

The failure of pharmacies across the country to identify, report, and refuse to fill inappropriate prescriptions of opioids has led to the widespread diversion and abuse of these dangerous drugs. When pharmacies like CVS chose to turn a blind eye to these red flags in order to obtain higher profits, opioids flooded into American communities resulting in rampant addiction, overdoses, deaths, and harms to Government healthcare programs.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

With more than 40 years of experience, Baron & Budd has the expertise and resources to handle complex litigation throughout the United States. As a law firm that takes pride in remaining at the forefront of litigation, Baron & Budd has spearheaded many significant cases for hundreds of public entities and tens of thousands of individuals. Since the firm was founded in 1977, Baron & Budd has achieved substantial national acclaim for its work on cutting-edge litigation, trying hundreds of cases to verdict and settling tens of thousands of cases in areas of litigation as diverse and significant as dangerous and highly addictive pharmaceuticals, defective medical devices, asbestos and mesothelioma, wildfires, environmental contamination, fraudulent banking practices, e-cigarettes, motor vehicles, federal whistleblower cases, and other consumer fraud issues.

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