CVS Health was accused of contributing to a nationwide epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose by filling illegal opioid prescriptions and billing federal health insurance programs, according to a lawsuit unsealed Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The lawsuit alleged that, since October 2013, CVS knowingly filled prescriptions for “dangerous and excessive quantities” of controlled substances that lacked a legitimate medical purpose, were not valid, and were not issued in the “usual course of professional practice.” These include a large number of unlawful “trinity” prescriptions, a dangerous combination of an opioid, benzodiazepine, and a muscle relaxant.
The Justice Department also alleged CVS pharmacies filled prescriptions written by so-called pill mills — prescribers who issue large numbers of controlled substance prescriptions without any medical purpose, and that the chain “ignored substantial evidence from multiple sources, including its own pharmacists and internal data, indicating that its stores were dispensing unlawful prescriptions.”
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