Nebraska gets $11 million in $3.1 billion Walmart opioid settlement

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Nebraska will receive more than $11 million from Walmart in a multi-billion-dollar settlement over opioid sales.

Per Nebraska attorney general Doug Peterson, Walmart announced the settlement on Tuesday to resolve allegations that the company contributed to the opioid addiction crisis by failing to properly monitor the sales of highly addictive drugs.

The settlement will provide $3.1 billion to several impacted states across the country, including Nebraska.

“We recognize that to the families who have lost a love one caused by an opioid addiction that started with a pain prescription, these settlements can provide little solace,” Peterson said in a press release.

“Our hope, however, is that these funds can help support strong opioid addiction treatment programs throughout our state so that we can significantly reduce opioid use disorder in Nebraska,” he said.

Nebraska’s portion of the funds will go to the state’s Opioid Recover Fund and participating cities and counties throughout the state.

The $3.1 billion proposal follows similar announcements on Nov. 2 from the two largest U.S. pharmacy chains, CVS Health and Walgreen Co., which each said they would pay about $5 billion.

In addition to Nebraska, attorneys general from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Tennessee, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, California, Louisiana, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Texas have served as the lead negotiators on this settlement with Walmart.