Kaiser Permanente agrees to pay $10.5M settlement. Are you eligible?
- - Kaiser Permanente agrees to pay $10.5M settlement. Are you eligible?
Michelle Del Rey , USA TODAYJanuary 29, 2026 at 8:17 PM
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Customers may be entitled to extra cash if they unsubscribed from a Kaiser Permanente text service but continued receiving messages.
The health care company has agreed to pay $10.5 million to settlement class members who received more than one text message within any 12-month period from Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc., even after opting out, according to the settlement website. Class members may be entitled to up to $75 for each qualifying text message.
The messages would have been sent out between Jan. 21, 2021, and Aug. 20, 2025.
Here’s how to qualify for the payment.
A Kaiser Permanente health care center is pictured in Anaheim, California, U.S., October 3, 2023.How to qualify for Kaiser Permanente settlement payments
Settlement class members must submit valid claim forms through the settlement website by Thursday, Feb. 12.
For the settlement, qualifying text messages are considered marketing text messages sent after a "stop" or similar opt-out request. Class members who opted out of receiving the marketing texts would not have received a message acknowledging their request.
Settlement class members may submit one claim form, which will cover all of their qualifying text messages to any of their telephone numbers.
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What does the Kaiser Permanente settlement stem from?
The settlement aims to resolve a lawsuit filed in August 2025 alleging that customers received text messages sent by or on behalf of Kaiser Permanente within any 12-month period after the individual communicated that they did not wish to receive text messages by replying to the marketing messages with a "stop" or similar opt-out instruction, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act.
Kaiser Permanente denies all allegations of wrongdoing in the lawsuit.
In an emailed statement provided to USA TODAY, Kaiser said, "This case involves claims that some prospective members, all of whom had asked Kaiser Permanente to contact them regarding membership options, received a limited number of texts after asking for the contacts to end."
"We resolved this case through a settlement, without any finding or admission of liability, to avoid protracted and expensive litigation," the health care company's statement continued.
Kaiser Permanente hospital wordmark in San Diego, California, U.S., January 26, 2026.
The lawsuit was initially filed against Kaiser Permanente in the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida in Miami on Aug. 20, 2025. Kaiser Permanente is one of the largest health care service plans in the United States, with over 12.5 million members.
Class action members claimed the unsolicited text messages resulted in "invasion of privacy, harassment, aggravation and disruption of daily life."
Based on evidence exhibited in the lawsuit, class members allege Kaiser Permanente "failed to maintain a master opt-out list and/or failed to maintain internal policies to sufficiently honor the opt-out request made by plaintiff and members of the class."
It's unclear when qualifying consumers may expect to get their payments. The settlement was approved during a hearing held on Wednesday, Jan. 28, according to Miami-Dade County court records. Even though the settlement is approved, appeals may still follow.
No claim settlement payments will be made until all appeals are final, according to the settlement website.
Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kaiser Permanente agrees to pay $10.5M settlement. Are you eligible?
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