Kansas City Blue Cross and Blue Shield Lawsuit filed Accuses Covid-19 testing provider GS Labs of defrauding insurance companies to pay high prices.
GS Labs rejected the claim. The company’s “price accurately reflects the level of service we provide nationwide and the safest and most convenient patient experience in the industry,” spokesperson David Leibowitz said in an email .
During the Covid-19 crisis, under federal law, health insurance companies and plans must cover certain diagnostic tests for the disease. But the lawsuit filed last week stated that GS Labs required Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Kansas City, Missouri to “pay rates many times higher than other providers’ rates for the same service.”
The payer claimed in the lawsuit that GS Labs requires US$380 for rapid antigen testing, while other similar suppliers accept approximately US$35. In addition, the test can be purchased at a wholesale price of less than $20. In total, the testing company submitted more than $9.2 million in claims to Blue KC.
The lawsuit states: “GS Labs intentionally and deliberately concealed or misrepresented important facts or circumstances related to its claim, and therefore lost the right to compensation (if any) for the claim.”
Blue KC stated that the lawsuit will also prevent the company from directly collecting outstanding claims from its health plan members, which may prevent them from being tested for Covid-19 in the future.
Blue KC Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Dr. Greg Sweat said: “Efficient and effective testing for Covid-19 is a key measure to restore public health and end the pandemic.” In the press release.
The insurance company asked the court to declare that Blue KC and its members were not required to pay GS Labs.
However, according to GS Labs, all claims in the lawsuit are false.
“Frankly, we are shocked by Blue KC’s stark attempt to bully our company. Their lawsuit was filed during ongoing price negotiations, and GS Labs was sincerely involved in it,” said Leibowitz, a spokesperson for GS Labs.
The company claims that Blue KC owns Paid so far Each patient visit is about $3.40.
“We look forward to resolving this issue in court, and arrive take overing As required by federal law, BCBS Kansas City pays for the services we provide,” Leibovitz said.
Litigation followed Report from the U.S. Health Insurance Plan, Claiming that certain Covid-19 testing providers are engaged in price fraud.
The report stated that in March, out-of-network providers charged a high price (over US$185) for 54% of Covid-19 tests. This is a big improvement compared to the average cost of commercial market testing of US$135.
Photo: TheCrimsonRibbon, Getty Images
