{"id":2382069,"date":"2024-12-19T17:03:51","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T22:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-sues-cvs-for-allegedly-violating-multiple-federal-laws-regarding-dangerous-drugs\/"},"modified":"2024-12-19T17:06:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T22:06:04","slug":"doj-sues-cvs-for-allegedly-violating-multiple-federal-laws-regarding-dangerous-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-sues-cvs-for-allegedly-violating-multiple-federal-laws-regarding-dangerous-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Sues CVS for Allegedly Violating Multiple Federal Laws Regarding &#8216;Dangerous&#8217; Drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-sues-cvs-for-allegedly-violating-multiple-federal-laws-regarding-dangerous-drugs%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2382069&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Department \u200dof Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil complaint against\u200d CVS Pharmacy Inc. and its subsidiaries,accusing them of \u200cunlawfully filling prescriptions that violate the federal Controlled substances Act. The lawsuit alleges that CVS sought reimbursement from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/manchin-reportedly-outlines-demands-for-democrats-climate-change-child-tax-credit-plan\/\" title=\"Manchin Reportedly Outlines Demands For Democrats\u2019 Climate Change, Child Tax Credit Plan\">federal health care programs<\/a> for these prescriptions, which included large \u200cquantities of opioids and combinations of dangerous drugs known as &#8220;trinity&#8221; prescriptions. Investigators claim CVS ignored evidence \u200dfrom\u200d its pharmacists and internal data \u200dindicating improper\u200b dispensing practices and filled prescriptions from practitioners \u200dinvolved in &#8220;pill mill&#8221; practices, where \u200ccontrolled substances are overprescribed without legitimate medical purpose.<\/p>\n<p>CVS\u200d has stated it has cooperated with the DOJ over \u2063a four-year\u2063 inquiry and disputes the allegations, labeling them as a &#8220;false narrative.&#8221; They maintain that all prescriptions\u2064 were for FDA-approved medications prescribed by authorized practitioners.\u2064 If found liable, CVS could face significant civil penalties. The case aligns \u2064with broader federal efforts to hold entities \u200caccountable for their roles in the opioid crisis, which has led to over \u200b80,000 deaths annually, primarily\u2063 linked \u200bto opioid misuse and illicit substances like fentanyl.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department unsealed a civil complaint Wednesday alleging CVS Pharmacy Inc. and various subsidiaries filled &ldquo;unlawful&rdquo; prescriptions in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint also says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/months-becoming-major-abortion-provider-struggling-cvs-may-dismantle-company\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CVS<\/a> sought reimbursement from federal health care programs for such prescriptions in violation of the False Claims Act. CVS is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/walgreens-wont-distribute-abortion-pill-in-21-states-spokesperson-says\/\" title=\"Walgreens Won\u2019t Distribute Abortion Pill In 21 States, spokesperson says\">largest pharmacy chain<\/a> in the U.S., with more than 9,000 pharmacies.<\/p>\n<p>A representative of CVS said the company has cooperated with the DOJ&rsquo;s investigation for more than four years and strongly disagrees with the allegations and what it called the &ldquo;false narrative&rdquo; within the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>Among the unlawful prescriptions that CVS allegedly filled from Oct. 17, 2013, to the present were for dangerous and excessive quantities of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/measure-blue-state-voted-resulted-241-increase-opioid-deaths-forces-dems-declare-state-emergency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opioids<\/a>, early fills of opioids, and &ldquo;trinity&rdquo; prescriptions &mdash; a dangerous combination of drugs made up of an opioid, a benzodiazepine, and a muscle relaxant, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/cvs-throws-towel-dc-store-repeatedly-ravaged-crime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CVS<\/a> also <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">allegedly filled large quantities<\/a> of prescriptions for controlled substances written by prescribers it knew to be engaged in &ldquo;pill mill practices&rdquo; &mdash; that is, prescribers who issue large numbers of controlled substance prescriptions without any medical purpose, investigators said.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>According to the complaint, CVS ignored substantial evidence from multiple sources, including its own pharmacists and internal data, indicating that its stores were dispensing such prescriptions.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This lawsuit alleges that CVS failed to exercise its critical role as gatekeeper of dangerous prescription opioids and, instead, facilitated the illegal proliferation of these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oklahoma-supreme-court-reverses-johnson-johnson-opioid-decision\/\" title=\"Oklahoma Supreme Court Reverses Johnson &amp; Johnson Opioid Decision\">highly addictive drugs<\/a>, including by pill mill prescribers,&rdquo; U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha for the District of Rhode Island said in a news release.<\/p>\n<p>If CVS is found liable, it could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pompeo-jokes-denies-knowledge-of-missing-5800-whiskey-the-great-case-of-the-missing-whiskey-bottle\/\" title=\"Pompeo Jokes, Denies Knowledge Of Missing ,800 Whiskey: \u2018The Great Case Of The Missing Whiskey Bottle\u2019\">face civil penalties<\/a> for each unlawful prescription filled and treble damages and other penalties for each prescription reimbursed by federal health care programs.<\/p>\n<p>The company said it&rsquo;s cooperated with investigators.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We will defend ourselves vigorously against this misguided federal lawsuit, which follows on the heels of years of litigation over these issues by state and local governments &mdash; claims that already have been largely resolved by a global agreement with the participating state Attorneys General,&rdquo; said Amy Thibault, director of external communications for CVS in a written statement.<\/p>\n<p>Each of the prescriptions in question was for an FDA-approved opioid medication prescribed by a practitioner who the government itself licensed, authorized, and empowered to write controlled-substance prescriptions, Thibault added.<\/p>\n<p>The filing of the complaint follows the announcement on Friday that the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/mckinsey-justice-department-criminal-penalty-opioids-crisis-d47d1bc1c4e14288927c2aea2369b789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">McKinsey &amp; Company consulting firm<\/a> has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal investigation into its work to help opioids manufacturer Purdue Pharma boost the sales of the highly addictive drug OxyContin.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s the latest effort by federal prosecutors to hold companies accountable that officials say helped fuel the U.S. addiction and overdose crisis, with opioids linked to more than 80,000 annual deaths in some recent years. For the past decade, most of these deaths have mostly been attributed to illicit fentanyl, which is laced into many illegal drugs. Earlier in the epidemic, prescription pills were the primary cause of death.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past eight years, drugmakers, wholesalers, and pharmacies have agreed to about $50 billion worth of settlements with governments &mdash; with most of the money required to be used to fight the crisis.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Justice Department revealed a civil complaint on Wednesday accusing CVS Pharmacy Inc. and its subsidiaries of filling &#8220;unlawful&#8221; prescriptions, breaching the federal Controlled Substances Act. The complaint also claims that CVS sought reimbursements from federal health care programs for these prescriptions, violating the False Claims Act. As the largest pharmacy chain in the U.S., with over 9,000 locations, CVS stated it has cooperated with the DOJ&#8217;s investigation for more than four years and strongly disputes the allegations and what it describes as a &#8220;false narrative&#8221; in the complaint<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2382070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/45419edf2f3b4bbc84969116e5cc1ba4-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[17433,7076,47141],"class_list":["post-2382069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cvs","tag-doj","tag-federal-laws"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/45419edf2f3b4bbc84969116e5cc1ba4-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2382069"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2382073,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382069\/revisions\/2382073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2382070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2382069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2382069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2382069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}