Columbus Regional Health patients in Indiana who logged into the hospital's patient portal between November 1, 2017 and June 30, 2022 may qualify to claim a flat $25.50 cash payment from the Columbus Regional pixel tracking class action settlement. Claims close September 19, 2026, and the online claim form cannot be opened without the Unique ID and PIN from the notice.
Current Status
Claims are open and close on September 19, 2026 — an online claim must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST that day, and a mailed paper form must be postmarked by the same date. The windows to opt out or object closed on June 22, 2026, so the only step left for a class member is the claim form. The final approval hearing was scheduled for July 22, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. in Marion County Superior Court, and no approval order has been posted to the settlement website, which still describes CyEx Privacy Shield Pro enrollment as something that happens after the court grants final approval. Nothing is paid until approval becomes final, so a class member who files now is joining a queue rather than triggering a payment.Free settlement alerts
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What Changed Recently?
The settlement resolves two related Indiana cases against Bartholomew County Public Hospital, which does business as Columbus Regional Health. The complaints allege that the hospital disclosed patients' personally identifiable information and protected health information to Meta and other third-party technology companies through the Meta Pixel and similar tracking, analytics and advertising tools, without patient consent. Columbus Regional denies every claim, maintains that it did nothing wrong, and says it agreed to settle to avoid the expense, burden and uncertainty of continued litigation — the settlement agreement is explicit that it is not an admission of liability or fault.The parties reached terms at a private mediation on November 7, 2025 before a retired Indiana Commercial Court judge, and the executed settlement agreement was filed on April 20, 2026. Notice went out with an enrollment code for the privacy product attached, and the claims window that follows runs to September 19, 2026.
Who Qualifies?
The long-form notice defines the Settlement Class as all patients of Columbus Regional residing in Indiana who logged into a patient portal account between November 1, 2017 and June 30, 2022. The claim form describes the same group from the court's order as the 20,766 individuals whose information was disclosed to third parties through the Meta Pixel or other tracking technologies, as identified on the class list. That matters in practice: the class is a fixed list drawn from the hospital's own records, not an open invitation to anyone who used the website, which is why notice carried a per-person Unique ID.Excluded from the class are the judge presiding over the case along with the judge's staff and immediate family; the officers and directors of Columbus Regional, its agents, affiliates, subsidiaries, parent companies, successors and predecessors, and any entity in which it or its parents hold a controlling interest; anyone who validly requested exclusion; the legal representatives, successors and assigns of those excluded; and Class Counsel.
How Much Can You Get?
The cash benefit is a flat $25.50. It is not a share of a common fund, so it does not shrink as more people file — Columbus Regional agreed to pay $25.50 multiplied by the number of approved claims, and to separately cover notice and administration costs, court-approved attorneys' fees and costs of up to $577,000, and service awards of up to $5,000 per class representative. Only one claim form may be submitted per class member.The second benefit does not require a claim at all. Every class member is offered one year of CyEx Privacy Shield Pro, which the notice describes as dark web scanning, compromised password scanning, a VPN, a password manager and other online privacy tools, plus access to a fraud resolution agent if something suspicious turns up. Enrollment codes were sent with the notice; class members activate the product separately after final approval, using instructions the administrator sends by email. Filing a claim for the $25.50 and enrolling in the privacy product are independent of each other, and a class member can do both.
Payment method is chosen on the claim form. A mailed paper claim pays by check to the address provided. Filing online opens the electronic options — PayPal, Venmo or Zelle — which are not available on the paper form. Checks expire and become void 180 days after they are issued, and money from checks that are never cashed goes to Indiana charitable recipients under the agreement's cy pres provision rather than back to the hospital.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
No receipts, medical records or documentation of any loss are required. The gate is a credential, not paperwork: the settlement website states that starting the online claim form requires logging in with the Unique ID and PIN printed on the notice that was mailed or emailed to the class member. Because a person who never received or no longer has the notice cannot open the online form, this is a proof-required settlement under the standard OCA applies to every page, even though nothing about the underlying claim has to be documented.The downloadable paper claim form lists the Unique ID as optional and can be completed with a name, address, email and phone number alone, then mailed or emailed to the administrator. That is an escape hatch rather than an open door — it forfeits the electronic payment options, and the class list still governs who is eligible. A class member who cannot find the Unique ID and PIN can request them from the Settlement Administrator through the official settlement website by supplying a full name and mailing address.
This is the same shape as the other hospital pixel cases now in claims: the Cone Health pixel tracking settlement and the Wellstar Health System pixel tracking settlement both gate their online forms on credentials from the notice.
What Is the Deadline?
September 19, 2026. An online claim must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST on that date. A paper claim form sent by U.S. mail must carry a postmark no later than September 19, 2026, and the notice gives the same date for a completed form emailed to the administrator as a scanned image. The opt-out and objection deadlines were June 22, 2026 and have passed, so a class member who did nothing by that date is in the settlement and bound by its release whether or not they file a claim.How Do You Take Action?
File on the Columbus Regional Settlement website. The online form opens after logging in with the Unique ID and PIN from the notice, then asks for name and contact information, a check box to claim the $25.50, and a payment selection. A paper claim form can be downloaded from the same site and mailed or emailed to the administrator instead, with the electronic payment options unavailable on that route.Enrolling in CyEx Privacy Shield Pro is a separate step that happens later. The enrollment code arrived with the notice; class members who no longer have it can request a replacement from the administrator through the settlement website, and activation instructions are sent by email after final approval.
What Happens Next?
The final approval hearing was set for July 22, 2026 at 9:30 a.m., with a remote attendance option, and the court has not posted an order to the settlement website. Under the agreement, approval becomes final once the time to appeal has run or any appeal is resolved. Columbus Regional then funds approved claims by the later of fourteen days after final approval or thirty days after the administrator reports the total of approved claims, and payments are issued thirty days after that funding. No payment date has been announced, and the hearing date in the notice is not itself an approval order.Sources and Verification
This page is built from the official Columbus Regional Settlement website, the long-form Notice of Class Action Settlement, the claim form, and the Class Action Settlement Agreement filed in Marion County Superior Court on April 20, 2026 in Brian Elkins and Annie Elkins v. Bartholomew County Public Hospital d/b/a Columbus Regional Health, Case No. 49D01-2305-PL-020792. Simpluris is the Settlement Administrator. The class definition, the $25.50 amount, the September 19, 2026 claim deadline, the June 22, 2026 exclusion and objection deadlines, the July 22, 2026 hearing date and the fee and service-award caps all come from those documents. The notice is embedded below.Questions
Who qualifies for the Columbus Regional pixel tracking settlement?
The long-form notice defines the Settlement Class as all patients of Columbus Regional residing in Indiana who logged into a patient portal account between November 1, 2017 and June 30, 2022. The class is a fixed list of 20,766 people identified from Columbus Regional's records, so membership is not open to anyone who simply believes they visited the website. Excluded are the judge presiding over the case, the judge's staff and immediate family; the officers and directors of Columbus Regional, its agents, affiliates, subsidiaries, parent companies, successors and predecessors, and any entity in which it or its parents hold a controlling interest; anyone who validly opted out; the legal representatives, successors and assigns of those excluded; and Class Counsel.
How much is the Columbus Regional settlement payment?
The cash benefit is a flat $25.50 per class member. It is not a pro rata share of a common fund and it does not rise or fall with the number of claims filed, because Columbus Regional agreed to pay $25.50 multiplied by the number of approved claims, on top of notice costs, administration expenses, court-approved attorneys' fees and the service awards. Only one claim may be submitted per class member.
Do you need a Unique ID and PIN to file a Columbus Regional settlement claim?
Yes to file online. The settlement website states that starting an online claim form requires logging in with the Unique ID and PIN printed on the notice that was mailed or emailed to the class member. No receipts, medical records or other documentation are required, and the downloadable paper claim form treats the Unique ID as optional, but the online portal cannot be opened without those credentials. A class member who cannot locate the ID and PIN can request them from the Settlement Administrator through the official settlement website.
What is the deadline to file a Columbus Regional settlement claim?
September 19, 2026. Online claims must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST that day, and a mailed paper claim form must carry a postmark no later than September 19, 2026. The deadlines to opt out of or object to the settlement were June 22, 2026 and have already passed.
What is CyEx Privacy Shield Pro and does it require a claim?
CyEx Privacy Shield Pro is a one-year privacy service offered to every class member, described in the notice as including dark web scanning, compromised password scanning, a VPN, a password manager and other online privacy tools, along with access to a fraud resolution agent. Enrollment codes were sent with the notice by email or U.S. mail. A claim form is not required to receive it; class members enroll separately after the court grants final approval, using instructions the Settlement Administrator sends by email.
When will Columbus Regional settlement payments be issued?
The notice states that Columbus Regional funds approved claims by the later of fourteen days after the settlement is finally approved or thirty days after the Settlement Administrator reports the total of approved claims, and that cash payments go out thirty days after that funding. No payment date has been announced. Class members can choose a check or an electronic payment by PayPal, Venmo or Zelle, with the electronic options available only on the settlement website; checks expire 180 days after they are issued.
