Consulting Giant McKinsey Reaches Settlement with Insurers Regarding Opioid Crisis

McKinsey and Co., a leading consulting firm, has reached a settlement to pay insurers $78 million to address claims its consulting activities with pharmaceutical companies exacerbated the opioid crisis in the United States.

The proposal includes setting up a reimbursement fund for insurers and other entities to cover opioid prescription costs. The deal, which awaits judicial approval, was disclosed in U.S. federal court filings in San Francisco.

The insurers accused McKinsey of collaborating with Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, to aggressively market opioids. They claim this led to higher costs for addictive prescription opioids and subsequent addiction treatments rather than cheaper, non-addictive alternatives.

The U.S. has seen nearly 280,000 prescription opioid overdose deaths from 1999 to 2021, per the CDC. McKinsey allegedly continued working with Purdue Pharma even after the crisis's severity became clear.

This settlement adds to McKinsey's ongoing legal resolutions, having previously agreed to a $600 million payout in early 2021 and a $230 million settlement later that year with various governmental bodies and school districts.

In response to the latest settlement news, McKinsey reiterated its stance that its past work was lawful, aiming to avoid extended lawsuits. The company stated it ceased advising on opioid-related matters in 2019.