DOJ sues Rite Aid for filling opioid prescriptions, missing 'obvious red flags'

The Rite Aid pharmacy chain “knowingly” contributed to the nation’s opioid crisis, the U.S. Justice Department alleged in a lawsuit filed on Monday.

“We allege that Rite Aid filled hundreds of thousands of prescriptions that did not meet legal requirements,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said. “According to our complaint, Rite Aid’s pharmacists repeatedly filled prescriptions for controlled substances with obvious red flags, and Rite Aid intentionally deleted internal notes about suspicious prescribers. These practices opened the floodgates for millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of Rite Aid’s stores.”

Related: Insurers refuse to pick up the bill for billions in opioid claims

The lawsuit, filed in Cleveland federal court, said Rite Aid repeatedly filled prescriptions from May 2014 to June 2019 that were medically unnecessary, for off-label use or not issued in the usual course of professional practice. Rite Aid pharmacists were accused of ignoring obvious signs of misuse, including in prescriptions for “trinities,” a combination of opioids, benzodiazepine and muscle relaxants preferred by drug abusers for their increased euphoric effect.

Authorities also said Rite Aid’s Government Affairs Department was aware that its pharmacists were ignoring obvious red flags and that it directed employees in another department to delete internal notes about suspicious activities such as “cash only pill mill???” “writing excessive dose[s] for oxycodone” and bluntly “DO NOT FILL CONTROLS,” according to the complaint.

Rite Aid has more than 2,200 locations across 17 states, including California, Ohio, Oregon, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Its retail pharmacy revenue is expected to be about $17.5 billion for the 2023 fiscal year, according to its latest third-quarter results reports. The company declined to comment on the allegations, citing the litigation.

More than 500,000 people died from drug overdoses in the United States from 1999 to 2020, including more than 90,000 in 2020 alone, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Justice Department also has sued Walmart and drug distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp over their alleged contributions to the nation’s opioid crisis.

“The Justice Department is using every tool at our disposal to confront the opioid epidemic that is killing Americans and shattering communities across the country,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.