Prime Healthcare $2M Patient Privacy Class Action Settlement

Patients of Prime Healthcare or one of its listed hospitals who accessed any of the company's websites between Nov. 1, 2019, and Oct. 18, 2023, may be eligible to claim a $20 cash payment and/or a year of free identity protection from a class action settlement.

Prime Healthcare Services Inc. agreed to pay $2 million to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging it used third-party tracking technologies, known as “tracking pixels,” on its websites in violation of state and federal privacy laws.

Who can file a claim?

Class members must meet all of the following criteria:

• They were a patient of Prime Healthcare or one of the relevant hospitals listed in the settlement.
• They accessed or used any of the Prime Healthcare web properties from Nov. 1, 2019, through the date the company removed the tracking pixels from the relevant website.

The relevant hospitals and websites include:

• Centinela Hospital Medical Center: https://centinelamed.com/
• Chino Valley Medical Center: https://cvmc.com/
• Desert Valley Hospital: https://dvmc.com/
• Encino Hospital Medical Center: https://encinomed.org/
• Harlingen Medical Center: https://harlingenmedicalcenter.com/
• Paradise Valley Hospital: https://paradisevalleyhospital.net/
• San Dimas Community Hospital: https://sandimashospital.com/
• Shasta Regional Medical Center: https://shastaregional.com/
• Sherman Oaks Hospital: https://shermanoakshospital.org/
• Alvarado/UC San Diego Health: https://alvaradohospital.com/
• Dallas Medical Center: https://dallasmedcenter.com/
• Dallas Regional Medical Center: https://dallasregionalmedicalcenter.com/
• Garden City Hospital: https://gch.org/
• Huntington Beach Hospital: https://hbhospital.org/
• Knapp Medical Center: https://knappmed.org/
• Lower Bucks Hospital: https://lowerbuckshosp.com/
• North Vista Hospital: https://northvistahospital.com/
• Roxborough Memorial Hospital: https://roxboroughmemorial.com/
• Saint Clare’s Health: https://saintclares.com
• Southern Regional Medical Center: https://southernregional.org/
• St. Joseph Medical Center: https://stjosephkc.com/
• St. Mary’s General Hospital: https://smh-nj.com/
• Suburban Community Hospital: https://suburbanhosp.org/
• West Anaheim Medical Center: https://westanaheimmedctr.com/
• Providence Medical Center: https://providencekc.com/
• Mission Regional Medical Center: https://missionrmc.org/
• East Liverpool City Hospital: https://elch.org/
• Monroe Hospital: https://monroehospital.com/
• Prime Healthcare main site: https://primehealthcare.com/

There are two main groups of class members:

• Patient portal subclass: Patients who accessed one of Prime Healthcare’s patient portals during the relevant period for their hospital
• Email subclass: Patients at a California Prime Healthcare hospital between Nov. 1, 2021, and the end of the class period who provided their email address to Prime Healthcare

How much can class members get?

• Patient portal subclass: Class members who accessed a Prime Healthcare patient portal during the relevant period can receive a $20 cash payment by submitting a valid claim form. They will also automatically receive a code for a one-year subscription to CyEx Medical Shield Pro.
• Email subclass: Class members who were patients at a California Prime Healthcare hospital between Nov. 1, 2021, and the end of the class period and who provided their email address to Prime Healthcare will automatically receive a code for a one-year subscription to CyEx Medical Shield Pro.

The CyEx Medical Shield Pro service includes dark web monitoring for personal information, national provider identifier monitoring (for health care providers), $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance, medical record number monitoring, real-time authentication alerts, security freeze assistance and victim assistance with identity theft recovery.

The settlement also requires Prime Healthcare to refrain from using certain tracking technologies for five years and conduct annual compliance audits.

How to claim a class action payment

To claim the $20 cash payment, eligible patient portal subclass members must submit the online claim form or download, print and mail the PDF claim form to the settlement administrator.

Settlement administrator's mailing address: Prime Healthcare Pixel Settlement, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 225391, New York, NY 10150-5391

The claim deadline is Dec. 21, 2026.

Class members automatically received a CyEx Medical Shield Pro code with their notice. To activate the service, they must visit the enrollment page and enter the unique code. The deadline to enroll is April 20, 2027.

Required information

To file an online claim, class members must provide the class member ID from the settlement notice they received.

Payout options

• Paper check (default option)
• Electronic transfer (online claims only)

Settlement fund breakdown

The settlement fund will cover:

• Settlement administration costs: $137,824 (estimated)
• Attorneys' fees and costs: Up to $2,000,000
• Service awards to class representatives: Up to $3,000 each for five representatives ($15,000 total)
• Credit monitoring costs: Depends on number of valid claims for this option.
• Payments to eligible class members: Remainder of the fund

The settlement administrator will pay any remaining funds from uncashed checks to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer-privacy organization, as a cy pres recipient.

Important dates

• Deadline to file a claim: Dec. 21, 2026
• Exclusion deadline: Dec. 21, 2026
• Final approval hearing: March 9, 2027
• Deadline to enroll in CyEx Medical Shield Pro: April 20, 2027

When is the Prime Healthcare settlement payout date?

The settlement administrator will distribute payments after the court resolves any appeals and grants final approval of the settlement.

Why is there a class action settlement?

The class action lawsuit alleged Prime Healthcare Services used tracking pixels on its websites that may have shared patient information with third parties, potentially violating privacy laws, such as the California Invasion of Privacy Act, Confidentiality of Medical Information Act and others.

Prime Healthcare denies any wrongdoing but chose to settle to avoid the cost, risk and disruption of ongoing litigation.

Sources

1. Class notice
2. PDF claim form
3. Settlement agreement
4. Settlement website FAQ page