Generic Prescription Drug Settlements: Here’s Who’s Eligible for Cash

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The attorneys general from many states have reached settlements with certain major prescription drug makers to resolve claims that alleged the companies illegally agreed to fix the prices of over 100 generic prescription drugs sold in the United States, causing consumers to overpay for the medications. 

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The state AGs have proposed an allocation and distribution plan to distribute money to eligible consumers who file timely, valid claim forms. Thus far, the state attorneys general have recovered roughly $25 million to $30 million in consumer restitution money from the defendants who have settled, and they expect additional settlements and payments in the future. 

Eligible for the settlement are all individuals who bought one or more of the drugs listed on this page in the United States between May 1, 2009 and December 31, 2019 and did not buy the drugs for resale or directly from a defendant, are not employed by a defendant, and currently reside in a state, commonwealth or territory in the U.S., other than Guam or American Samoa. 

A complete list of the covered states and territories can be found near the bottom of this post. Eligibility for a settlement payout is based on a consumer’s current place of residence at the time they submit their claim, and not where they made the generic prescription drug purchases. 

The official generic prescription drugs settlement website can be found at AGGenericDrugs.com.

Consumers (other than those residing in Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii or Texas) have two options to file a claim for settlement money:

• Option 1 – an equal share of money per applicable attorney general settlement; or
• Option 2 – a share per settlement based on the estimated total amount of money spent out of pocket on eligible drugs during the relevant time period.

Option 1 requires consumers only to certify that they bought certain generic prescription drugs in the United States during the relevant time period. Consumers who file a claim through this option do not need to provide proof of purchase and will receive an equal share of the money available through each of the state AG settlements for which they are eligible. 

Option 2 requires consumers to both certify that they bought certain generic prescription drugs in the U.S. during the relevant time period and provide the estimated total they paid out of pocket for qualifying drug purchases. The settlement administrator may later request that Option 2 claimants provide documentation, such as receipts, corroborating their estimated out-of-pocket spend on the drugs at issue.

Option 2 claimants can use this document with instructions for how to estimate the total amount they paid out of pocket. Payouts for Option 2 consumers will be a share of each settlement fund for which they’re eligible, calculated based on the amount they paid. 

The settlement website states that it is possible that payout amounts will be higher for Option 2 claimants than the equal-share payments for consumers who file claims via Option 1, and in all cases, consumers who choose Option 2 will not receive less than they would under Option 1.

Residents of Louisiana and Missouri are not represented by their respective attorneys general in the litigation but can file claims for some of the state AG settlements that their attorneys general were previously involved in, meaning the compensation available to Louisiana and Missouri residents will be reduced proportionally. 

Although the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii and Texas did not participate in any of the generic prescription drug settlements, residents of those states can still file a claim form because class action attorneys asserted claims on their behalf and joined one of the states’ deals with the defendant Apotex. Residents of Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii and Texas need only complete a claim certifying that they paid out of pocket for eligible drug purchases during the relevant time period. These individuals will not choose between Options 1 and 2 but will instead receive a fixed payment. 

Claim forms for the generic prescription drug settlements can be filed online on this page. Alternatively, a claim form is available on this page to download, print, fill out and return by mail to the settlement administrator’s address listed on the form.

Claim forms must be filed online or postmarked by March 8, 2027. 

Settlement money will begin to be distributed to eligible consumers after the court grants final approval of the allocation and distribution plan and any disputes are resolved. A final approval hearing has been set for September 8, 2027. The amount of money each claimant may receive from the settlements will be tallied after all claims have been submitted and reviewed and will be based on the total number of valid claims submitted, among other factors. 

Generally, consumers are eligible for a settlement payout if, between May 1, 2009 and December 31, 2019, they bought a qualifying generic prescription drug made by any of the defendants and currently reside in Connecticut, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin or Wyoming. 

Settlements have been reached with some but not all of the drug manufacturer defendants, and additional settlement money may become available in the future pending any potential trial, deals or additional payments required via settlement. The settlements resolve claims against certain defendants in three lawsuits: State of Connecticut et al. v. Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. et al.; State of Connecticut et al. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. et al.; and State of Connecticut et al. v. Sandoz, Inc. et al. 

The litigation claims that numerous defendants and their alleged co-conspirators agreed to “fix prices and split customers” for prescription drugs sold in the U.S., which caused consumers who bought the drugs at issue to pay more than they should have. 

Roughly 45 percent of the money recovered from the settling defendants by the state AGs will be allocated as restitution for consumers, the settlement website says.

The drug companies who have entered settlements with the state attorneys general are Heritage Pharmaceuticals Inc., Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Apotex Corp., Bausch Health US, LLC, Bausch Health Americas, Inc., Lannett Company, Inc., and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., USA. 

Litigation continues against certain non-settling drug-maker defendants, which include Actavis, Amneal, Ascend, Aurobindo, Breckinridge, Citron, Dr. Reddy’s, Fougera, G&W, Greenstone, Lupin, Mallinckrodt (bankruptcy), Mayne Pharma, Mylan, Par Pharmaceutical (bankruptcy), Perrigo, Pfizer, Sandoz, Sun, Taro, Teligent (bankruptcy), Teva, Upsher-Smith, Wockhardt and Zydus. 

Did you know that some class action settlements require no proof to submit a claim? Check out the latest class action settlements.