By Nate Raymond
(Reuters) -The three largest U.S. drug distributors have agreed to pay $300 million to resolve claims from health insurers and benefit plans that they helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic, according to court documents filed on Friday.
The proposed class action settlement with McKesson Corp (NYSE:), Cencora Inc and Cardinal health Inc (NYSE:) was disclosed in a filing in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio, and requires a judge’s approval.
These companies previously agreed to pay $21 billion to resolve claims from state and local governments that accused them of having lax controls that allowed vast quantities of addictive painkillers to be diverted into illegal channels.
Paul Geller, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement that Friday’s deal involved third-party payers such as union funds that “largely paid for the over-prescribed and over-marketed pills and for the treatment needed then their plan beneficiaries inevitably suffered from an opioid use disorder.”
The distributors admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The $300 million will be paid 38.1% by McKesson, 30.9% by Cardinal and 31% by Cencora, formerly known as AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:).
The case was among thousands filed to hold various drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies responsible for a drug addiction epidemic that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths nationwide over the past two decades.
The lawsuit has resulted in more than $50 billion in settlements, much of it with states and local governments.
