Kaiser Permanente reaches $46 million settlement over data breach — how to file your claim

U.S. healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente will soon begin sending out payments to impacted customers after their personal data and health info was allegedly shared with third-party companies.

As reported by CBS, the $46 million settlement is the result of multiple lawsuits filed in April and May of 2024 that were then consolidated into a class-action lawsuit.

While preliminary approval to the settlement was granted back in December of last year, Kaiser has now begun sending out official settlement notices to its 13 million members in Washington, D.C. and the following states: California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.

If you’re a current or former Kaiser member that lives in any of those places, you have until March 12th to file your claim. Here’s everything you need to know about this privacy data breach including what info was exposed along with how to file your claim.

Patient data exposed via third-party tracking code

According to the lawsuit against Kaiser, from November 2017 to May 2024, its websites and mobile apps allegedly used third-party tracking code that sent confidential personal data and health info without the consent of members to companies including Google, Microsoft, Meta and X.

It’s important to note that this isn’t a data breach in the traditional sense and no hackers were involved. Instead, by using snippets of tracking code from services like Google Analytics or Meta Pixel in its websites and apps, Kaiser was able to track how members used its online services. The problem though is that these snippets of code accidentally brought patient data along with them back to the tech companies

This exposed data includes members’ IP addresses, names, search terms, medical histories, communications with healthcare professionals and other details on how they used Kaiser’s mobile apps and websites according to the lawsuit. On a Kaiser Privacy Breach Settlement website though, the health giant denies the claims made by the plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit. The company also explains that it hasn’t found any indication that this exposed member data was misused or at risk.

So why did Kaiser agree to the settlement then? Well, it did so to end “the burden, expense and uncertainty of further litigation” surrounding this class-action lawsuit. Likewise, this third-party tracking code was removed from its websites and apps back in 2024 while implementing additional security measures to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.

How to file your claim and how much will you get

If you’re a current or former Kaiser member living in California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, Washington or Washington, D.C. that used the company’s websites or mobile apps between November 2017 to May 2024, then you are eligible to receive a portion of this $46 million settlement. This will be sent to you as a one-time cash payment and in a post on its site, ClassAction.org revealed that it believes impacted customers that file a claim could receive a payment between $20 to $40.

Although this is slightly less than customers received in Amazon’s $2.5 billion settlement, it’s still worth filing a claim since your personal data and health info were exposed without your knowledge. To get started, head to the settlement website where you’ll need a unique settlement class member ID to file a claim. If you haven’t received one yet, you can request it through the settlement website by entering your email address.

The claim form can be filed online or submitted by mail. Whichever option you choose though, you have until March 12, 2026 to submit your claim. After the final court hearing to approve the settlement takes place on May 7, one-time payments will begin being sent out to impacted members that filed on time.

When it comes to data breaches, this incident could have been much worse as Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information wasn’t exposed. Still, if you’re concerned about your data ending up in the wrong hands, it never hurts to invest in one of the best identity theft protection services ahead of a major breach. That way, you’ll have all the help you need when it comes to restoring your identity and recovering any funds lost to fraud.

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's Guide

• Fake Grok app built using generative AI discovered spreading malware on macOS devices
• Microsoft's first Patch Tuesday of 2026 fixes over 100 bugs and one active zero-day flaw — don't wait to update your PC
• Instagram denies data breach of 17 million users after password reset email wave — here's what to do next