Walgreens to Pay $595 Million to Settle COVID Test Contract Dispute

Walgreens said it had entered into a settlement agreement with telemedicine provider Everly Health Solutions as part of which the pharmacy chain operator will pay the company $595 million over a contract dispute for COVID-19 testing.

The settlement, payable within two business days, comes after a judge in Delaware recently ruled against Walgreens’ bid to set aside an arbitration ruling. Walgreens had faced paying a substantially higher amount, nearly $1 billion.

Everly Health, formerly known as PWNHealth, initiated the arbitration in 2022, claiming that Walgreens broke the terms of a 2020 business contract during the pandemic.

Walgreens had used Everly’s physician network to order COVID-19 tests that customers requested on Walgreens’ website, according to court filings.

(Reporting by S K in Bengaluru)