Opioid settlements

Additional Settlements Secured for New York  

• Teva Pharmaceuticals will pay up to $523 million to New York. Payments started in 2023 and will continue over 18 years.
• CVS and Walgreens will pay up to $458.2 million to New York. Payments started in 2024 and will continue, respectively, over 10 to 15 years for CVS and Walgreens.
• Walmart paid $120 million to New York. Payment was made in 2024.
• Johnson & Johnson will pay up to $230 million to New York. Payments started in fall 2021 and will continue over nine years.
• McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., and Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation — three of the nation's largest drug distributors — will pay up to $1.1 billion to New York. Payments started in fall 2021 and will continue over 17 years.
• Allergan Finance paid $200 million to New York. Payment was made in 2022.
• Mallinckrodt paid nearly $18 million to New York.
• Publicis will pay up to $19 million to New York. Payments started in 2024.
• Endo paid $22.3 million to New York.
• McKinsey & Company paid $32 million to New York, as part of a $573 million settlement nationwide. 

Allocation of funds

Funds received as a result of these settlements will be divided among state agencies and localities for abatement and treatment. The funds are allocated to ensure that each part of the state gets an appropriate share of the funds.   

In 2021, New York enacted legislation to create a dedicated opioid settlement fund to ensure that these settlements are used for abatement. The legislation establishes an advisory board, appointed by the state and localities, to guide the legislature in appropriating the funds to state agencies, counties, and city governments. 

Initial distribution of funds began in April 2022.

Ending the crisis of opioid abuse

In additional to financial relief for New York's communities, Attorney General James has secured commitments from these companies to take critical actions. These actions include: 

• Establish a national clearinghouse to collect and analyze data from distributors about opioid orders and direct shipments. McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen will each report opioid shipments. The clearinghouse, operating under an independent monitor, will establish pharmacy-specific shipment levels to prevent oversupply of opioids in communities.
• Detect suspicious orders and prohibit shipments to pharmacies where there is evidence that opioids are being diverted outside of legitimate prescriptions
• Provide annual reports to an independent monitor who oversees the distributors’ suspicious order monitoring program and compliance with injunctive terms
• Stop Allergan, Johnson & Johnson, and Teva from promoting and lobbying on activities related to opioids and Allergan and Johnson & Johnson from manufacturing or selling opioids.
• Stop McKinsey and Publicis from advising companies on opioid-based Schedule II and III narcotics
• Ensure that CVS, Walmart and Walgreens address potentially illegitimate prescriptions, block problematic prescribers and abide by their legal duties as pharmacies;
• Ban the Sacklers from ever selling opioids in the United States again
• Ensure the public release of documents, including tens of thousands of internal documents, that provide insight into companies' roles in the opioid-abuse crisis