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N.H. to receive $15 million from Walmart for opioid crisis recovery and treatment

A handful of pills on a purple surface
file
The agreement is part of a national settlement with Walmart.

Attorney General John Formella announced Wednesday that New Hampshire will receive $15.5 million from Walmart over the next year to fund recovery services and treatment for people living with opioid use disorder.

The agreement is part of a national settlement with the supermarket and pharmacy chain that alleges Walmart contributed to the opioid crisis by not properly overseeing the dispensing of the medications at its pharmacies.

The settlement also requires Walmart to improve how its pharmacies handle opioids by complying with new measures to prevent fraudulent prescriptions and flag ones that seem suspicious.

The settlement with Walmart comes on the heels of other opioid-related settlements in New Hampshire. The state previously filed complaints against Mallinckrodt and Purdue Pharma. Both companies have since filed for bankruptcy protection.

Formella also joined a $450 million multi-state settlement with opioid manufacturer Endo and filed complaints against major distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and Amerisource Bergen. In response to those cases, New Hampshire will receive $115 million over 18 years.

New Hampshire also reached a $40.5 million settlement with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson in September.

Julia Furukawa is the host of All Things Considered at NHPR. She joined the NHPR team in 2021 as a fellow producing ATC after working as a reporter and editor for The Paris News in Texas and a freelancer for KNKX Public Radio in Seattle.
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