CVS Health Corp. has agreed to pay $315 million to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit over allegations that it unlawfully dispensed medically unnecessary opioid prescriptions. The government alleged CVS violated the Controlled Substances Act by filling illegitimate prescriptions and the False Claims Act by seeking payment for them from federal healthcare programs.
The lawsuit, brought in 2024, accused CVS of filling prescriptions from known “pill mills.” It also alleged that performance metrics and staffing levels led pharmacists to fill prescriptions without verifying their legitimacy.
The agreement resolves the claims without an admission of wrongdoing. CVS will implement additional safeguards and monitoring for dispensing controlled substances.