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New Yorkers who overpaid for drugs at Walgreens could have money coming
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Mar 23, 2025
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Mar 23, 2025
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Customers who filled prescriptions at Walgreens as recently as November of last year could get money back through a $100 million class-action lawsuit settlement.
The suit alleged Walgreens overcharged insured customers for prescription medication, failing to honor discounts from its now-defunct Prescription Savings Club. Settlement payments are available to customers who purchased prescription drugs between Jan. 1, 2007, and Nov. 18, 2024 — but they must file claims by April 17 to get any money back. The amounts of payouts will be prorated depending on how much each person spent, but individual claimants could receive a maximum of $5,000.
Third-party payers can file claims as well. Benefits providers for several unions joined individuals in filing the class-action lawsuit.
People who paid for drugs without insurance are excluded from the settlement. People who want to opt out of class-action award, potentially to pursue litigation separately, can do so with instructions included in a notice of the settlement.
Under the Prescription Savings Club, customers were offered discounts on hundreds of generic prescriptions, making some available for as little as $5 for a 30-day supply.
But the lawsuit, Russo et al. v. Walgreen Co., cited examples of customers paying far more, sometimes double what they should have been charged. It said a plaintiff who paid for more than 20 prescriptions at Walgreens locations in New York and Massachusetts was charged nearly $188 for medications that should have cost $127 under the Prescription Savings Club’s terms. A Texas customer paid nearly $419 for drugs that should have cost $204, it says.
The total settlement amount was preliminarily approved by a federal court, but is subject to a fairness hearing on Sept. 10. Walgreens did not admit any wrongdoing under the settlement’s terms.
The company declined to comment when contacted by Gothamist over email.
Walgreens has separately said it plans to close about 1,200 locations over the next three years.
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Catalina Gonella
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