GS Labs settlement provides $1M in restitution for Washingtonians regarding COVID-19 testing

Washingtonians will receive nearly $1 million in restitution through a bipartisan multistate settlement with GS Labs resolving claims that the company, which ran COVID-19 testing sites, overcharged patients and failed to deliver timely test results.

The 18-state coalition, co-led by Washington, investigated a number of problems with GS Labs' nationwide testing practices from 2020 through 2022, including that:

• GS Labs intentionally advertised inflated "cash prices" for COVID-19 tests, sometimes as high as $380 per test or nearly $1,000 for multi-panel tests, that were used to justify overcharging patients with insurance coverage. And while GS Labs offered a "discount" from these "cash prices" to actual cash-paying patients, almost 30,000 patients still paid much more than market rate for their COVID-19 tests.
• For hundreds of thousands of patients, GS Labs guaranteed test results within three days and failed to deliver on its promise, sometimes taking a week or longer to get test results to patients.
• Despite advertising that patients with insurance would have no out-of-pocket costs, the company charged administrative fees as high as $49 per test to about 70,000 patients.

"During the height of the pandemic, GS Labs unfairly profited off of Washingtonians just trying to get tested for COVID-19," Attorney General Nick Brown said. "This is another great example of how our office vigorously enforces Washington's consumer protection laws to protect people from deceptive business practices."

Under the terms of today's settlement, GS Labs will pay a total of $3.6 million in restitution to patients in the 18 plaintiff states. That includes $1.8 million for cash-paying patients who were overcharged for tests, $1.75 million for patients who were charged administrative fees, and about $34,000 for cash-paying patients who did not receive test results within three days.

In Washington, more than $987,000 will be available to compensate state residents who were harmed by the company's testing practices. More than 11,000 people in Washington are expected to qualify for restitution, in amounts ranging from $5 for people who were improperly charged administrative fees to $200 for people who paid for a COVID test out of pocket.

Eligibility

The settlement creates an online restitution mechanism that will be funded and administered by GS Labs, with oversight by the multistate coalition. Eligible consumers include out-of-pocket paying consumers who paid more than the market rate for testing, consumers who paid for test results that were not delivered within the advertised turn-around time, and consumers who paid administrative fees to GS Labs.

To determine one's eligibility and, if applicable, to receive a restitution payment, consumers must complete a brief verification process, which is available at https://www.gslabstesting.com.

All information used to verify a consumer's identity will only be used for that purpose and will not be saved, stored, or shared. The refund process involves digital security that will ensure the safety of any submitted information. Consumers are encouraged to complete this process as soon as possible, as restitution payments will be processed on a rolling basis. GS Labs will be contacting affected consumers via email to share more information about the restitution process.

GS Labs has represented to the states that it no longer offers testing services and is not operational. As part of the settlement, if GS Labs decides to resume testing services, the company must make several changes to its advertising and sales practices, including:

• GS Labs must disclose in its marketing materials the maximum time for it to provide test results.
• GS Labs will report testing results within the advertised time period and, if it cannot, it must notify patients of the delay and offer a full refund.
• GS Labs must comply with local, state, and federal requirements to promptly deliver COVID-19 test results and provide notification of any delays.
• GS Labs will cease charging cash-paying patients fees more than market rates, charging patients for late test results, and charging administrative fees in violation of state and federal laws.
• GS Labs must disclose in its marketing materials the actual cash price that will be charged to patients, including clearly disclosing any applicable discounts.
• GS Labs cannot charge administrative fees for COVID-19 testing services.
• GS Labs cannot unjustifiably increase the cost of its testing services during a declared emergency.

The settlement was negotiated by Brown's office alongside the attorneys general of Kansas, Minnesota, and Nebraska. Also joining the settlement are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.

A copy of the settlement agreement is available here.

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Washington's Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state's largest law firm, the Attorney General's Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington's 39 counties. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

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