A medical testing lab in New Jersey filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group on June 2, accusing the company and its units of not covering claims for COVID-19 tests, according to Law 360.
The lawsuit, filed in the New Jersey district court by Genesis Laboratory Management, accused UnitedHealth and its Oxford Health Plans unit of not reimbursing 51,000 claims for COVID-19 tests. Genesis also accused UnitedHealth of issuing burdensome requests for medical records, according to the report.
Genesis is an out-of-network provider for UnitedHealth, according to the report. While UnitedHealth paid the majority of Genesis' claims from March through May 2020, the lab accused UnitedHealth of "systematically denying" payments beginning in June 2020.
In an emailed statement to Law 360, a UnitedHealth representative said, "We disagree with the allegations in the complaint and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter."
Another national insurer, Cigna, is facing similar claims from a radiology lab in New Jersey. The lawsuit accuses Cigna of wrongfully denying payment for nearly $400,000 in services provided to COVID-19 patients.