Recently, in just a matter of a few years, some issues surfaced regarding Walgreens, and that’s why you might be searching for the details regarding this Walgreens Class Action Lawsuit, right? Well, actually, one matter has a lot to do with just the different pricing methods for the customers, while another has a lot more seriousness to it. So, for some reason, if you feel curious about this case and want to know more, then just keep on reading.
Background on Walgreens
It could be that you’re hearing about them for the very first time (although that’s highly unlikely) then you should know that Walgreens Boots Alliance is running thousands of stores all over the country and is serving millions of customers on a daily basis. So sure enough, when the operations are that big, even some small errors can lead to big problems, wouldn’t you agree? That is precisely what has happened.
See, some problem occurred with their pricing method, and other than that, there is an even more severe lawsuit that was settled, so let’s talk about that one, too. But one thing is clear, even a big company like this can’t get away with these things, no matter if the errors are severe or just some small things.
Generic Drug Pricing Class Action Settlement ($100 Million)
Let’s talk about the first one, which you might be mainly here for. So, this one is about a class action lawsuit, which clearly and strongly alleges that Walgreens has overcharged insured customers for certain generic drugs by allowing the price of the same drugs to be lower for customers who paid in cash and were part of the former Prescription Savings Club. To put it in the simplest words possible, see, it was noted that some customers paying through insurance ended up paying higher prices without them even knowing. And when someone noticed it, no doubt, it became a big thing, and everyone was on it.
And it wasn’t even for a small period like a few months or a year, nah, this quite literally went on for nearly two decades, like from January 1, 2007, to November 18, 2024, which is almost 17 years. So far, sure enough, as you would have guessed it already, they have denied doing any wrongdoing and they say that it wasn’t their fault, but still, to settle this matter right here, they have agreed to pay a $100 million settlement.
So moving on, there will be no case, no trial, no nothing.
And from the specified time period, whoever bought drugs from them can be pretty much qualified for a piece of this settlement money. All you’d need is a valid ID and the bill for the drugs. That’s all.
Opioid Prescription Settlement ($350 Million DOJ Case)
The previous one was just about how the price changes were made to possibly profit even more, but this one’s even more serious, actually. To briefly tell you about this, see, in a federal case initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice, Walgreens has consented to pay as much as $350 million to resolve the claims concerning opioid prescriptions made by the company.
The issue? Well, it is believed that for more than a decade, the Walgreens drug stores were dispensing millions of opioid prescriptions like nothing, and even though they were visibly marked with signs of abuse. The carelessness was the thing that led to this lawsuit back in 2023, and just in a matter of a few weeks, this became a big thing in the country. But to settle the matter right away and not drag things even further in court, once again, they went down the settlement route and decided to pay about $350 million in total.
