NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee is expected to get a combined $265 million from an opioid crisis settlement with CVS and Walgreens, according to a release from Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti.
The money is part of a national settlement that totals more than $10 billion. The companies will need to pay $5 billion to states involved in the settlement, and Walgreens will need to pay $5.7 billion.
“The opioid crisis continues to plague Tennesseans and we will continue to pursue its contributors,” General Skrmetti said in the release. “While no amount of money will be enough to heal broken communities, we will send settlement money to the Opioids Abatement Trust Fund to assist in bringing the epidemic to a halt."
CVS and Walgreens also agreed to requirements that they monitor, report and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions.
States will have a chance to review the terms of the agreement and will have until the end of 2022 to join it. After that, local governments across the U.S. will have a chance to sign this agreement, as well as a separate one with Walmart totaling more than $3 billion in total.
Almost all the funds from the agreements will need to be used to help people affected by the opioid crisis. The Opioid Abatement Council in Tennessee will oversee the funds, making sure they are appropriately distributed across the state.
CVS will spread payments over a decade, and Walgreens will spread payments over 15 years. According to the release, payments will begin during the second half of 2023.
Other states on the agreement include North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas.