Ohio Lawyer Says Pharmacy Distributors To Pay $878M For Opioid Epidemic

A lawyer for two Ohio counties said that CVS Health Corp CVS, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA, and Walmart Inc WMT should fund an $878 million plan addressing the opioid crisis, writes Reuters.
In November, a federal jury decided that the companies created a public nuisance by flooding Ohio's Lake and Trumbull counties with addictive prescription pain pills.
Now, the counties want the companies to fund an $878 million five-year plan that Mark Lanier, a lawyer representing the counties, said was aimed at solving the opioid crisis rather than allocating blame.
CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart have denied the counties' claims and said they would appeal the November verdict.
Related: Walgreens Announces $683M Opioid Settlement With Florida.
The companies have offered to fund a one-year program to buy back unused prescription opioid drugs in the two counties.
They argue that Ohio's public nuisance law only requires them to stop an oversupply of prescription drugs - and not address all of its harmful effects on the communities.
The companies argued that if they must do more than repurchase drugs, they should not be forced to cover costs related to illegal drug use.
Price Action: CVS shares are down 0.16% at $98 on the last check Wednesday.