Kroger Had a Discount Prescription Club. Insured Customers Say They Never Got the Benefit — and Overpaid Every Time.

Kroger agreed to pay $17 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging the grocery chain reported inflated “usual and customary” drug prices to insurance companies — causing insured customers to overpay their prescription copays for years. Plaintiffs filed the case in 2021, and a motion for preliminary approval landed in Ohio federal court on March 13, 2026. No settlement website or claim deadline has been announced yet. This article covers what the lawsuit alleges, who may qualify, and what to watch for as the settlement moves toward approval.

Field	Detail
Settlement Amount	$17,000,000
Claim Deadline	TBD — settlement pending preliminary approval
Who Qualifies	Insured patients who paid Kroger prescription copays between Dec. 9, 2018, and the date class notice is disseminated
Payout Per Person	TBD — pro rata based on actual or estimated out-of-pocket costs
Proof Required	TBD
Settlement Status	Preliminary approval pending — motion filed March 13, 2026
Administrator	TBD
Official Website	TBD

Where things stand right now:

• Kroger pharmacy customers reached a $17 million settlement with the grocer resolving allegations it inflated their copays for insured prescriptions, with a motion for preliminary approval filed in Ohio federal court on March 13, 2026.
• The court has not yet granted preliminary approval. Until it does, no claim form, settlement website, or administrator will be publicly identified.
• Once preliminary approval is granted, the court will set a claims deadline and schedule a final approval hearing. Check back here for updates — this article will be updated as those details become available.

Kroger’s Discount Drug Club Had Prices Far Below What It Reported to Insurers. That’s the Problem.

In 2018, Kroger launched its Rx Savings Club — a membership program that offered deeply discounted prices on hundreds of generic medications for a flat annual fee. The program was a genuine deal: Kroger’s Savings Club offers deeply discounted prices on hundreds of generic medications in exchange for an annual membership fee, and most customers enroll because the discounts are so attractive.

The problem, according to plaintiffs, was what Kroger reported to insurance companies. When a customer with health insurance filled a prescription, Kroger submitted a “usual and customary” (U&C) price to the patient’s pharmacy benefit manager — the company that processes drug claims and sets copay amounts. Plaintiffs allege that Kroger misrepresented the U&C prices of generic prescription drugs when processing insurance claims, and that by excluding the discounted prices available through its Rx Savings Club from the U&C field, Kroger artificially inflated insured customers’ copays, effectively charging them more than uninsured cash-paying customers.

The numbers in the original complaint show exactly how this worked in practice. Kroger allegedly reported a “usual and customary” doxycycline price of $88.49 and a benzonatate price of $44.49 to Anthem. Based on these amounts, Anthem set plaintiff Kirkbride’s copays at $11.70 for the doxycycline and $44.49 for the benzonate — a total of $56.28 on the two generic drugs. Meanwhile, Kroger sells doxycycline hyclate for $9.82 and benzonatate for $6 through its Rx Savings Club. Kirkbride argued her real maximum out-of-pocket — even including the $36 annual club membership — should have been $51.82, not $56.28, and that the overcharge applied across thousands of transactions.

Kroger denies all allegations. The company argued throughout litigation that it had no duty to disclose its Rx Savings Club pricing, and that it published both retail and club prices on its website. The parties ultimately agreed to resolve the dispute for $17 million rather than proceed to trial.

Which Kroger Pharmacy Customers May Qualify

The class definition has not yet been publicly finalized by the court. Based on the motion for preliminary approval, you may qualify if:

• You used health insurance to pay for one or more prescription drugs at a Kroger pharmacy
• Your transaction occurred between December 9, 2018, and the date the court approves class notice
• You paid a copay calculated based on Kroger’s submitted “usual and customary” price
• You were not reimbursed by another source for the overage

The class covers anyone who paid in whole or in part for insured prescriptions at Kroger pharmacies during that period — which includes Kroger-branded stores and affiliated banner pharmacies. Kroger operates under a range of regional names including Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Smith’s, Ralph’s, King Soopers, Harris Teeter, and others. Whether those locations fall within the class definition will be confirmed when the court publishes the formal class notice.

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How Much Insured Customers Could Receive

Each class member will receive a pro rata cash payment based on their estimated or actual out-of-pocket expenditures for prescription drugs at Kroger during the class period for transactions for which they used an insurance benefit. That means patients who filled more prescriptions — or paid higher copays — will receive proportionally larger payments from the fund.

The total fund is $17,000,000. Attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses, service awards to the named plaintiffs, and administration costs will be deducted before distribution. Specific fee requests and fund breakdown details have not been publicly disclosed yet and will appear in court filings once preliminary approval is granted.

Individual payment amounts are TBD until the administrator processes all valid claims. Based on the scale of the class — plaintiffs’ experts identified overcharges across a dataset of over 158 million pharmacy transactions from Kroger’s own records — the class is likely to be large, which affects the per-person share.

How to File a Claim — When the Time Comes

No claim form exists yet. The settlement is pending preliminary court approval as of March 2026. Here is what to expect once the court acts:

Step 1 — Watch for a settlement notice by mail or email if you filled insured prescriptions at Kroger between December 9, 2018, and the notice date

Step 2 — Visit the official settlement website (URL TBD) once it is announced by the court-appointed administrator

Step 3 — Complete and submit the claim form with your transaction history or certification of purchases

Step 4 — Submit documentation if required (TBD based on final settlement terms)

Step 5 — Save your confirmation and watch for payment after final court approval

To stay informed, you can monitor the case docket directly: Kirkbride, et al. v. The Kroger Co., Case No. 2:21-cv-00022-ALM-EPD, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.

Estimated time to complete: TBD

Key Dates in the Kirkbride v. Kroger Prescription Drug Settlement

Milestone	Date
Class Period Begins	December 9, 2018
Lawsuit Filed	January 2021
Motion for Preliminary Approval Filed	March 13, 2026
Preliminary Approval Hearing	TBD
Class Notice Dissemination	TBD
Claim Filing Deadline	TBD
Opt-Out Deadline	TBD
Final Approval Hearing	TBD
Expected Payment Date	TBD

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a lawyer to file a claim?

 No. Once the court approves a class notice, you will be able to file directly through the official settlement website without hiring your own attorney. Class counsel from Bursor & Fisher P.A., Smith Krivoshey P.C., and Arisohn LLC represent all class members at no direct cost to you.

Is this settlement legitimate?

 Yes. This is a federal class action pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Case No. 2:21-cv-00022-ALM-EPD). The $17 million settlement was reported by Law360 on March 13, 2026, based on the preliminary approval motion filed in court. No settlement website is active yet — any site claiming to take claims right now should be treated with caution.

When will I receive my payment? 

No payment timeline is confirmed. The court must first grant preliminary approval, then authorize class notice, then hold a final approval hearing before any payments go out. Given the filing date of March 2026, payments are unlikely before late 2026 or 2027 at the earliest.

What if I missed the claim deadline? 

No claim deadline exists yet. Once the court sets one, it will appear in the official class notice and on the settlement website. Check back here for updates as this settlement progresses.

Will this settlement payment affect my taxes?

 Possibly. Payments that reimburse actual out-of-pocket prescription expenses are generally not taxable. Amounts that exceed your actual losses may be treated as ordinary income. Consult a tax professional once you receive your payment and know the exact amount.

What exactly is a “usual and customary” price, and why does it matter?

 The “usual and customary” price — often written as U&C — is the benchmark price a pharmacy submits to insurance companies to represent what it normally charges cash customers. Insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers use that number to calculate how much your copay should be. Plaintiffs argue that Kroger’s Savings Club prices were widely available to the public and should have been reflected in the U&C pricing field submitted to pharmacy benefit managers. If the U&C price is inflated, your company is inflated along with it.

I filled prescriptions at Harris Teeter or King Soopers. Do those count? 

Kroger operates those banner stores. Whether they fall within the class definition will be confirmed in the official court-approved class notice once preliminary approval is granted. Monitor the case docket or this article for updates.

What happens if I do nothing once the settlement is approved?

 If you qualify and take no action after the claim period opens, you will not receive a payment. You will also release your legal claims against Kroger related to the copay inflation described in the lawsuit — meaning you cannot separately sue Kroger over the same conduct.

Last Updated: March 25, 2026

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Legal claims and outcomes depend on specific facts and applicable law. For advice regarding a particular situation, consult a qualified attorney.