McKee Campaign Launches New Ad Exposing Helena Foulkes’ Role in Illegal Opioid Prescription Scheme
Secret Payments” exposes Foulkes’s role in the illegal dispensation of unlawful opioid prescriptions while 1,015 Rhode Islanders died of overdoses.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The McKee for Governor campaign today launched its newest television ad, “Secret Payments,” exposing how, according to a Biden Department of Justice lawsuit, Helena Foulkes fueled and profited from the opioid crisis as a top executive at CVS Health, including accepting $173 million in secret payments from Purdue Pharma to keep pills flowing. The 30-second spot will run statewide across broadcast and digital platforms.
Under Helena Foulkes’ leadership, the company knowingly disregarded concerns around illegal opioid sales and refused to take preventative measures – maximizing profits at the expense of Rhode Islanders’ health and safety. During that time, executives doubled down on staffing policies prioritizing speed over safety and accepted $173 million in secret payments from Purdue Pharma, to not restrict the flow of pills.
Despite Foulkes’ claiming ignorance, federal prosecutors have charged that CVS executives like her refused to take action to slow or stop filling invalid prescriptions because they didn’t want to reduce opioid sales. During this time, Foulkes took home millions while the company ignored desperate pleas for help from its own pharmacists.
For 13 years, Foulkes also chaired the University of Connecticut’s Dodd Center alongside Jonathan Sackler, then a Purdue Pharma vice president and registered lobbyist, while the Sackler family donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Center under her leadership. In April 2026, Purdue Pharma – which is owned by the Sackler family – was sentenced to $5.5 billion in federal fines for fueling the opioid crisis.
“While Helena Foulkes was lining her own pockets and cutting deals with her family friends at Purdue Pharma, Rhode Islanders were suffering because of a public health catastrophe she helped fuel,” said Sophie Mestas, spokesperson for McKee for Governor. “She spent over a decade sitting on boards with the Sackler family, knowingly disregarded concerns around illegal opioid sales and refused to take preventative measures as a top CVS executive, and walked away with millions while families buried their loved ones – and still won’t even acknowledge the harm she’s caused. Meanwhile, Governor McKee has lowered overdose deaths, directed millions in settlement dollars to families on the front lines of this crisis, and actually showed up for Rhode Islanders when it mattered.”
The opioid crisis has had devastating effects in Rhode Island and across the United States. During Foulkes’ leadership from 2014 to 2018, CVS turned a blind eye while over a hundred thousand Americans died of accidental drug overdoses, including 1,015 Rhode Islanders.
TRANSCRIPT:
NEWS CLIP: CVS now facing a lawsuit from the Department of Justice…
NARRATOR: On Helena Foulkes’ watch, CVS put profits over safety…
NEWS CLIP: The lawsuit alleges that the pharmacy giant fueled the opioid crisis…
“Foulkes is defending her actions at the company, but the lead federal prosecutor in Rhode Island claims the pharmacy ignored warnings…”
NARRATOR: CVS accepted secret payments to keep opioids flowing…
Foulkes pocketed millions…
While Rhode Islanders died.
HELENA FOULKES: “What I did through the opioid crisis is a good example of leadership.”
NARRATOR: If that’s what she did as a CEO, imagine what she’d do as governor.
