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A COVID testing company that runs more than 275 testing sites across the country faces another lawsuit over its operations. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against the Center for COVID Control, claiming it engaged in "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in violation of the Consumer Protection Act."
The lawsuit accuses the company of faking test results, lying to customers, and improperly storing test samples. In one instance, investigators found over 1,000 samples stored in trash bags that should have been refrigerated to prevent them from going bad. In another case, the company's Director of Operations reportedly told employees to post-date samples, even if they were likely expired, so the company could still bill insurance companies or the federal government for the cost of the tests. In addition, the company would routinely list patients who had health insurance as uninsured while billing the federal government over $124 million to cover the cost of the uninsured patients coming to get tested.
"Center for COVID Control contributed to the spread of COVID-19 when it provided false-negative results," Ferguson said in a statement. "These sham testing centers threatened the health and safety of our communities. They must be held accountable."
Last month, the company paused operations amid multiple lawsuits over its operations. The company initially planned to resume operations on January 22 but recently announced an indefinite pause to "train additional staff on sample collection and handling, customer service and communications best practices, as well as compliance with regulatory guidelines."