Kroger prescription prices settlement: opt-out closed, claims Dec 21

The short version: one deadline has passed, one is still open, and nobody has been paid. The court’s schedule gave class members until October 22, 2026 to exclude themselves or to object; the official site still lists “Exclusion Deadline … Oct 22 2026” and “Objection Deadline … Oct 22 2026”. Both were set at 120 days after the June 24 preliminary approval order. If you did nothing, you are still in the class — and you can still file for money. The claim deadline is December 21, 2026, which the order set at 180 days after preliminary approval.

The case is about how Kroger priced prescriptions for insured customers. According to the court-approved notice, it “relates to how Kroger determined its U&C prices in submitting claims for prescription reimbursement, specifically whether it should have considered its Savings Club prices in determining its U&C prices.” The plaintiffs allege that leaving the lower club prices out inflated the “usual and customary” price and therefore what insured customers paid. “Kroger denies any wrongdoing and maintains that it correctly reported its retail prices as its U&C prices. The Court has not decided who is right.” Kroger’s position is that club prices, which required members to “pay an annual membership fee, and satisfy other terms and conditions,” are not its “usual” or “customary” prices.

As of October 23, 2026, the Important Documents page lists nine documents, the newest being the fee motion filed October 6. No final-approval motion, opt-out count or objection has been posted there. We could not read the court docket today (CourtListener returned an authorization error), so we cannot say whether anyone objected; a missing document is not proof that none was filed.

The preliminary approval order lays out the sequence after the opt-out deadline:

• Opt-out count (about November 5, 2026, our arithmetic). “Within 14 days after the Opt-Out Deadline and conclusion of the Class Objection Period, the Settlement Administrator shall prepare a declaration,” which must state “the total number of Settlement Class Members that timely sought to be excluded” and any late requests. It goes to the lawyers first and is filed with the final-approval motion.
• Kroger’s walk-away window (up to December 21, 2026, our arithmetic). The settlement agreement lets Kroger terminate if opt-outs meet “Triggering Criteria” kept in “a separate, confidential Side Agreement.” If they are met, Kroger has “60 days from the Opt-Out Deadline” to give notice. Even then, class counsel would get another 60 days to persuade opt-outs to come back, and anyone who withdraws an opt-out has their claim form “deemed to be timely filed.” Nothing public says the criteria have been met. Clauses like this are common in class settlements.
• Claims close December 21, 2026. Same date the walk-away window would end.
• Final-approval papers due December 28, 2026. “Papers in support of final approval of the Settlement Agreement, and any supplementation to the Fee Brief shall be filed with the Court on or before December 28, 2026,” and any responses to objections are due the same day. This filing is where claim and opt-out figures usually first appear.
• Fairness hearing January 11, 2027, 10 a.m., Courtroom 1, Room 331, Kinneary U.S. Courthouse, 85 Marconi Boulevard, Columbus, Ohio. The court “may continue or adjourn the Fairness Hearing without further notice,” or hold it by phone or video; any change “will be posted on the Settlement Website.”

One open question for the hearing is the judge. The notice says the hearing is “before Judge Algenon L. Marbley,” who signed the June orders (Docs. 164 and 165). The October 6 fee motion is captioned “District Judge Douglas R. Cole” with the case number ending -DRC-SCS. We have not seen the reassignment order.

File a claim by December 21, 2026. Submit it online at the official site or mail it, postmarked by that date, to Kroger Savings Club Litigation Settlement, Attn: Claim Forms, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103. The claim form warns: “If your completed Claim Form is not postmarked or received online by December 21, 2026, you will not receive a payment.” Online filers “will receive a receipt saying that your claim was submitted”; for a paper form, the form suggests certified mail if you want proof it arrived. You sign under penalty of perjury.

Known or Unknown claimant. If Angeion sent you a notice with a claim ID, you are a Known Claimant and use that ID. If you never got one but paid for prescriptions at a Kroger-owned pharmacy with insurance, you can still file. If you are not on Kroger’s list, the administrator will treat you as an Unknown Claimant and ask for documentation. Anyone claiming $8,000 or more must send documentation either way.

You can no longer opt out or object. The order says class members who did not object in time “shall be deemed to have waived any objections and shall be foreclosed from making any objections (whether by appeal or otherwise).” And if you do not file a claim, the notice says you “will not receive any payment” but are still “bound by past and any future Court rulings” and the release.

Nobody has published a per-person figure, and the official documents give none. The plan of allocation sorts each claim into a bracket. Estimated spending of $1–$500 is valued at $500, $501–$1,000 at $1,000, $1,001–$4,000 at $4,000, and $4,001–$7,999 at $7,999. Claims of $8,000 and over count at the documented amount. These are weights, not payouts. Each person gets their valued claim divided by everyone’s valued claims, multiplied by the net fund. The more people file, the smaller each share.

The net fund is $17,000,000 minus whatever the court approves for fees, costs, service awards, notice and administration. The October 6 motion asks for $5,666,666.66 in fees (one-third), $610,325.71 in costs and $5,000 for each of the two named plaintiffs. If all of that is granted, $10,713,007.63 remains before administration costs and taxes (our arithmetic). The judge can award less.

When. Not before final approval. The plan says “The initial Distribution will be completed no later than 120 days after the Effective Date,” and the Effective Date comes only after the judgment is final and any appeals are over. The notice warns that an appeal “could take several years to resolve.” Payments go by Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, ACH or check, and checks must be cashed within 180 days of issue.

The settlement is real. It was preliminarily approved by a federal court, and the only official website is KrogerSavingsClubSettlement.com. The administrator is Angeion Group: (888) 535-4262, info@krogersavingsclubsettlement.com, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103. The notice asks people not to telephone the court or the clerk’s office.

Some timing rules make fakes easier to spot. First, payment messages come later. The claim form says payments “will be sent digitally unless you request a paper check,” and that you will receive an email or text “notifying you about your settlement payment” with options such as PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, ACH transfers and virtual prepaid cards. That can only happen after final approval and the Effective Date. A “your Kroger payment is ready” message in October, November or December 2026 does not fit the court’s schedule. Second, the opt-out process, which asked for a Social Security number on a mailed exclusion letter, ended October 22. Third, filing a claim is free. If you are unsure about a message, do not click its links. Type the official address yourself or call the number above. As of October 23, 2026 we found no reports of fake emails tied to this settlement.

Is Kroger being investigated for price gouging? This settlement does not answer that. It is a private class action about the “usual and customary” prices Kroger reported for insured prescription claims, not a government investigation of grocery or pharmacy prices. If you have a complaint about prices on store shelves or at checkout, your state attorney general’s consumer-protection office is the place to go, not this administrator.

Does Kroger charge to deliver prescriptions, and how do you save on prescriptions at Kroger? The settlement documents do not cover delivery fees or current discount programs, and we have not verified Kroger’s current terms. The settlement only covers past prescription purchases paid at least in part with insurance at a Kroger-owned pharmacy between December 9, 2018 and August 23, 2026.