Kroger has agreed to pay $17,000,000 to settle claims that it inflated the “usual and customary” prices it reported for prescriptions by leaving out the lower prices it charged under its Savings Club program. Anyone who paid, in whole or in part, for a prescription at a Kroger-owned pharmacy using insurance between December 9, 2018 and August 23, 2026 can file — and the deadline is December 21, 2026. Nothing is paid automatically. Kroger denies the allegations.
Official resources:
- Official settlement website — Kroger Savings Club Settlement — the claim portal, the FAQs, the long-form notice and the plan of allocation.
Table of Contents
- What is the Kroger settlement about?
- Who qualifies?
- How much can you get?
- What proof do you need?
- What is the deadline?
- How to file a claim
- What happens next?
What is the Kroger settlement about?
The dispute is about a pricing term. Pharmacies report a “usual and customary” price — the U&C price — when they submit prescription claims for reimbursement. Plaintiffs allege Kroger inflated its U&C prices by leaving out the lower prices it charged under its Savings Club program, and that insured customers paid inflated amounts as a result. They brought claims for fraud, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment.
Kroger denies the allegations. It maintains it acted appropriately in reporting its retail prices as its U&C prices, and contends that the special prices available to members who joined the Savings Club, paid an annual membership fee and met other conditions are not its “usual” or “customary” prices.
The notice states the matter settled with no findings of liability or wrongdoing by Kroger, and the court has not decided who is right. The class period was carried forward to August 23, 2026 when the court granted preliminary approval, so recent prescriptions count, not only older ones.
Who qualifies?
The settlement class is all individuals in the United States and its territories who, at any point from December 9, 2018 through August 23, 2026, paid in whole or in part for one or more prescription drugs from Kroger using their insurance.
Three parts of that definition do most of the work:
- You must have used prescription insurance benefits to fill the prescription. A prescription paid entirely out of pocket, or through a discount program instead of insurance, is outside the class.
- You must have paid something toward it — but paying “in part” is enough, so an ordinary copay counts.
- It is nationwide, with no residency requirement and no requirement that you ever joined the Savings Club.
“Kroger” here means The Kroger Co. and all pharmacies owned or operated by The Kroger Co. or any of its affiliates, which reaches past stores carrying the Kroger name. The full list is set out in Exhibit A to the plan of allocation on the official settlement website; check a specific store against that exhibit rather than assuming from the sign out front.
Excluded are the judges presiding over any portion of the action and their families and staffs; Kroger’s officers and directors and those of its subsidiaries, parents, successors, predecessors and affiliates, and any entity in which Kroger holds a controlling interest; anyone who timely and validly requests exclusion; and anyone who has separately sued, filed an arbitration demand, or participated in a settlement against Kroger over its U&C price determinations in connection with the Savings Club.
How much can you get?
No per-person figure has been published, and the structure is the reason. Kroger pays $17,000,000 into a settlement fund. From that, the court may award attorneys’ fees of up to one third of the fund, out-of-pocket costs and expenses of up to $610,325.71 plus interest, service awards of up to $5,000 to each named plaintiff, and notice and administration expenses. What remains is the net settlement fund.
The net settlement fund is divided pro rata among everyone who files a valid claim, weighted by what each claimant paid. Your distribution amount is your recognized claim divided by the total recognized claims of all authorized claimants, multiplied by the net settlement fund.
In practice two variables move your payment: how much you personally paid for Kroger prescriptions using insurance during the class period, and how many other people file. Someone with years of regular prescriptions should expect more than someone with a single copay, and every share shrinks as the claim total grows.
The plan of allocation sorts claimants into known and unknown claimants depending on whether Kroger identified them as potential class members. The two groups face different documentation requirements rather than different payment formulas. That plan remains subject to change until the court approves it, so the current version on the official settlement website governs.
What proof do you need?
Treat this as a proof-required settlement. There are three separate requirements, and which ones apply depends on your situation.
- If you received a notice with a claim identification number, you are a known claimant, and the online claim form asks for the notice ID and confirmation code from that notice.
- Every claimant attests on the claim form to their estimated or actual payments to Kroger for prescriptions filled using insurance during the class period. Anyone whose total claimed amount is $8,000 or more must submit supporting documentation or data sufficient to identify those payments.
- Below $8,000, documentation is still required from anyone the administrator determines is not on Kroger’s list of known purchasers. Those claimants are contacted after filing and asked to supply it.
If you did not receive a notice but believe you qualify, you can still file — the route runs through the claim form on the official settlement website, and you should expect a documentation request to follow.
What is the deadline?
Claim forms are due December 21, 2026. The notice states that date without specifying a cutoff time or timezone, so file well ahead of it rather than relying on a late-evening submission.
Two earlier deadlines fall nearly two months before the claim deadline. To exclude yourself from the settlement class, your request must be postmarked no later than October 22, 2026. To object to the settlement, the plan of allocation, or the requested fees, expenses or service awards, your objection is due October 22, 2026 as well.
Excluding yourself and filing a claim are mutually exclusive: if you opt out, you may not submit a claim form.
How to file a claim
File through the official settlement website, Kroger Savings Club Settlement. The portal starts by asking whether you have a notice ID and confirmation code, and branches from there — one path for claimants who received a notice, another for people who did not receive one but believe they qualify.
You will be asked for information showing you are a member of the settlement class and to attest to your prescription payments during the class period, plus supporting documentation where the thresholds above apply. Paper filing is available as well, and the claim form and the plan of allocation are both posted on the official website’s Important Documents page. Filing directly on the official site is free.
What happens next?
The fairness hearing is scheduled for January 11, 2027 at 10:00 a.m. EST before Judge Algenon L. Marbley at the United States Courthouse in Columbus, Ohio. At that hearing the court decides whether to approve the settlement, the plan for allocating the net settlement fund, class counsel’s fee and expense request, and the requested service awards. The notice cautions that the time and date may change.
A hearing being held is not the same as approval being granted, and approval is not the same as payment. The notice states that the initial distribution of the net settlement fund will be allocated to class members within 120 days after the effective date, which arrives only after final approval and the resolution of any appeals — and it warns that an appeal could take several years. If the settlement is finally approved by all necessary courts, accrued interest on the fund is included in what class members are paid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to have been a Kroger Savings Club member to file a claim?
No. The Savings Club is what the lawsuit is about, not who is covered by it. Plaintiffs allege Kroger should have taken its Savings Club prices into account when it reported usual and customary prices. The class is defined by paying in whole or in part for one or more prescription drugs from Kroger using insurance during the class period, whether or not you ever joined the Savings Club.
Which pharmacies count as Kroger for this settlement?
The Kroger Co. and all pharmacies owned or operated by The Kroger Co. or any of its affiliates, which reaches beyond stores carrying the Kroger name. Exhibit A to the plan of allocation on the official settlement website lists them — check a specific store against that exhibit rather than assuming from the sign out front.
What if I paid cash instead of using insurance?
A prescription paid entirely out of pocket, or through a discount program instead of insurance, is outside the class. The class definition requires that you paid in whole or in part for the prescription using your insurance.
Do I need receipts?
It depends on the amount and on whether Kroger identified you. Anyone claiming $8,000 or more must submit supporting documentation. Below that, documentation is required from anyone the administrator determines is not on Kroger’s list of known purchasers, and those claimants are contacted after filing.
When would payments go out?
Not before the January 11, 2027 fairness hearing and the resolution of any appeals. The notice says the initial distribution will be allocated within 120 days after the effective date, and warns that an appeal could take several years. No payment date has been announced.
Sources
- Kroger $17M Prescription Settlement — Claim by Dec 21 on OpenClassActions.com — the full settlement breakdown, with the allocation formula and the documentation thresholds.
- Official settlement website — Kroger Savings Club Settlement — official FAQs, settlement agreement, plan of allocation and the long-form notice.
- Court-approved long-form notice and the plan of allocation and distribution, including Exhibit A (the list of covered pharmacies).
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