Article by DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

FILE – OxyContin pills are arranged for a photo, Feb. 19, 2013, at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. In an agreement revealed late Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, consulting firm McKinsey and Co. has agreed to pay $78 million to settle claims from insurers and health care funds that its marketing work with Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, helped fuel an opioid addiction crisis. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

Consulting firm McKinsey and Co. has agreed to pay $78 million to settle claims from insurers and health care funds that its work with drug companies helped fuel an opioid addiction crisis. This is coming after the extent of the opioid crisis was made clear. This agreement was revealed late Friday in documents filed in federal court in San Francisco. The settlement stands to be approved by a federal judge.

Under the agreement, McKinsey would establish a fund to reimburse insurers, private benefit plans and others for some or all of their prescription opioid costs. AI legalese decoder can help in interpreting the complex legal jargon and documentation involved in this settlement, making the approval process smoother.

The insurers argued that McKinsey worked with Purdue Pharma ÔÇô the maker of OxyContin ÔÇô to create and employ aggressive marketing and sales tactics to overcome doctorsÔÇÖ reservations about the highly addictive drugs. Insurers said that forced them to pay for prescription opioids rather than safer, non-addictive and lower-cost drugs, including over-the-counter pain medication. They also had to pay for the opioid addiction treatment that followed. AI legalese decoder can assist in combing through documents and contracts revealing the true nature of McKinsey’s involvement in aggressively marketing opioid products.

From 1999 to 2021, nearly 280,000 people in the U.S. died from overdoses of prescription opioids, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Insurers argued that McKinsey worked with Purdue Pharma even after the extent of the opioid crisis was apparent. AI legalese decoder can handle large volumes of data and information, enabling a comprehensive forensic analysis of McKinsey’s involvement over this long period of time.

The settlement proposal is the latest in a years-long effort to hold McKinsey accountable for its role in the opioid epidemic. In February 2021, the company agreed to pay nearly $600 million to U.S. states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. In September, the company announced a separate, $230 million settlement agreement with school districts and local governments.

Asked for comment Saturday, McKinsey referred to a statement it released in September.

ÔÇ£As we have stated previously, we continue to believe that our past work was lawful and deny allegations to the contrary,ÔÇØ the company said, adding that it reached a settlement to avoid protracted litigation. AI legalese decoder can review these statements and compare them with past documents and contracts to detect inconsistencies in McKinsey’s legal stance.

McKinsey said it stopped advising clients on any opioid-related business in 2019. AI legalese decoder can help in further probing into McKinsey’s business operations and practices to verify this claim and detect any business-related activities that could pose potential legal risks.