Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is taking GS Labs to court over allegedly inflating the price of COVID-19 tests to upward of 10 times that of competitors.
Filed July 21, the lawsuit alleges GS Labs filed $9.2 million in "inflated and otherwise improper claims," according to The Kansas City Star.
In Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City's statement on the lawsuit, the insurer claims the wholesale price of tests should be around $20 and cost $35 to administer. GS Labs charges $380 for the rapid antigen test and $979 for a full respiratory panel, according to its website.
GS Labs told Becker's in a statement that the company has only been reimbursed about $3.40 per patient by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. The lawsuit is an attempt to "discredit lifesaving services," the statement read.
"Frankly, we are shocked by Blue KC's naked attempt to bully our company," GS Labs said in a statement. "Their lawsuit was filed in the midst of an ongoing negotiation over prices, one GS Labs participated in good faith. At a time when COVID-19 variants are spreading like wildfire and more testing is desperately needed, Blue KC's lawsuit is ill-timed and dangerous."
The lawsuit is on the heels of a report by AHIP, the country's top healthcare insurance lobbying group, on COVID-19 test price gouging.