Health Insurance Provider Sues COVID-19 Testing Lab Over Price Gouging

A major Kansas City health insurance provider is accusing a medical laboratory of price gouging for COVID-19 tests, charging roughly 10 times more than other companies.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in the Western District of Missouri seeking a declaratory judgment that would prevent the insurance provider from having to pay for testing done by the company, GS Labs.

Blue Cross Blue Shield announced the lawsuit in a statement Wednesday, saying the company is ‘not working with us in good faith.’

GS Labs is based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company says on its website that the lab began offering COVID-19 tests in 2020, ‘with a mission to offer convenient and quick testing options.’

It advertises prices around $380 for a basic COVID-19 test and up to $979 for more advanced tests.