Kroger ‘Allowed the Fire of Addiction to Spread’, Announces $110 Million Settlement

CINCINNATI (FALLING) – Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced a $110 million settlement Thursday with Cincinnati-based Kroger as part of its lawsuit against the grocer for its role in the opioid crisis, according to our partners at Questioner from Cincinnati.

Speaking at a news conference at the Life Learning Center across the Ohio River from Cincinnati in northern Kentucky, Coleman said Kroger had fueled the opioid epidemic by prescribing the drugs with “shockingly” little oversight or means of reporting suspicious activity.

“(They) allowed the fire of addiction to spread,” Coleman said.

There was no immediate response from Kroger.

Why Kentucky sued Kroger

His office said the agreement is one of the largest opioid settlements in Kentucky’s recent history and ends one of its major lawsuits filed in 2024.

Last year, Coleman sued Kroger and pharmacy benefit managers Express scripts AND Optum Rx in separate lawsuits over their role in Kentucky’s opioid epidemic.

Kroger is a $150 billion retailer that includes: pharmaceutical business with a turnover of $14.3 billion their annual revenues. Express Scripts is a subsidiary of a Connecticut-based healthcare company Cigna Group. Optum is part of a Minnesota-based company UnitedHealth Group.

Coleman, a Republican, took office last year after being elected in 2023.