Updated

Updated · WKRC TV Cincinnati · Aug 24

Kroger Opens Claims in $17 Million Prescription Settlement Over 2018-2026 Generic Drug Charges

Updated

Updated · WKRC TV Cincinnati · Aug 24

Kroger Opens Claims in $17 Million Prescription Settlement Over 2018-2026 Generic Drug Charges

Q: Did your health insurance actually cause you to secretly overpay for generic prescriptions at Kroger?

Possibly — but the allegation is really that Kroger’s pricing practices, not your insurer alone, may have caused some insured customers to pay too much for certain generic drugs. The lawsuit says Kroger should have treated its lower Kroger Savings Club prices as its “usual and customary” price when billing insurance. If that lower benchmark had been used, some customers’ copays or other out-of-pocket costs could have been lower. In that sense, using insurance may have led some people to pay more than a Kroger discount-club cash price. Kroger denies that. The company says the Savings Club prices were available only to people who paid to join the program, so those prices were not its standard retail prices and did not have to be reported that way to insurers. Kroger agreed to settle for $17 million without admitting wrongdoing, and the court has not ruled on who is right. If you used insurance to fill one or more prescriptions at a Kroger-owned or operated pharmacy between Dec. 9, 2018, and Aug. 23, 2026, you may be eligible for a payment if the settlement is approved. Claims are due by Dec. 21, 2026. Payments will be prorated, based on how much you spent on qualifying prescriptions and how many valid claims are filed, after fees and costs are deducted. So the short answer is: maybe. The case alleges some insured Kroger customers overpaid compared with what they might have paid under the Savings Club, but that has not been proven in court.

3 articles · Updated · WKRC TV Cincinnati · Aug 24

$17 million in proposed settlement funds are now open to claims from Kroger pharmacy customers who filled prescriptions during the past eight years, with filings due by Dec. 21.
The class action alleges Kroger charged some insured customers too much for certain generic drugs from December 2018 through August 2026 by not applying lower Kroger Savings Club prices to their out-of-pocket costs.
Kroger agreed to settle but denies wrongdoing, saying it never overcharged customers and that the discounted prices were available only to people who paid for the savings club membership.
The deal still requires final court approval, and payments to eligible customers would be prorated; some non-Kroger pharmacy customers may also qualify.