prescription drugs News

Rite Aid Files for Bankruptcy Amid Rising Debt, Opioid Litigation

Debt-laden Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday and said it would close underperforming stores, as the drugstore chain comes under pressure from lawsuits alleging that it helped fuel the U.S. opioid crisis. The filing will allow it to …

US Supreme Court Weighs Key Standard in Whistleblower Fraud Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday considered a bid by three whistleblowers to revive lawsuits accusing pharmacy operators of pocketing millions of taxpayer dollars by knowingly overbilling government health insurance programs for prescription drugs. The justices heard arguments in an …

Iowa: Husband Eligible for Work Comp Death Benefits Despite Separation

The husband of a deceased worker is not ineligible for workers’ compensation death benefits merely because he no longer lived with his wife when she died, a divided Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday. In a 4-2 decision, the high court …

Massachusetts Settles With Walmart Over Workers’ Compensation Drug Prices

Retail pharmacy Walmart has agreed to pay $500,000 to Massachusetts after allegedly failing to follow the state’s prescription pricing procedures designed to keep costs down in the workers’ compensation insurance system, Attorney General Maura Healey announced. As a result of …

Massachusetts AG Finds More Drug Overcharges in Workers’ Compensation

Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts, Inc. has agreed to pay $3.2 million after allegedly failing to follow prescription pricing procedures intended to keep costs down and prevent overcharges in the state’s workers’ compensation insurance system, according to Massachusetts Attorney General …

US Judge Finds for Three Drug Distributors in West Virginia Opioid Lawsuit

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of three major U.S. drug distributors in a landmark lawsuit that accused them of causing a health crisis by distributing 81 million pills over eight years in one …

Under Scrutiny, Some Telehealth Firms Are Rethinking ADHD Drugs

The largest online mental health startup has tightened its prescription practices after criticism by medical professionals that its aggressive social-media marketing and workplace culture made some addictive medications too easy to get. And there are signs that scrutiny of mental …

Walgreens, Drugmakers Blame Others for San Francisco’s Opioid Crisis

Pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance and other defendants on Tuesday said they were not to blame for the opioid crisis in San Francisco, and that they acted responsibly when providing legal medications to patients in pain. “Almost all of those …

Mental Health Drug Prescriptions Rising

The number of Americans taking mental health prescription medication is up 6.4% in the last year, which means that 65 million people (1 in 5) are now prescribed medication to help them cope with stress, anxiety or depression, according to …

Mallinckrodt Puts Off Planned Generics Spinoff Amid Opioid Cases

Mallinckrodt Plc said it would suspend the spinoff of its specialty-generics business as it grapples with a wave of lawsuits related to opioid painkillers and a bruising marketplace for copycat medicines. The company is still considering a range of options …