A lawsuit from GS Labs is accusing Minnesota-based Medica of violating the federal COVID-19 relief act by withholding over $10 million in payments for COVID-19 tests.
According to the Oct. 28 lawsuit, Medica allegedly has over 30,000 outstanding claims, only paying 8 percent of GS Labs' current claims.
GS Labs tests accounted for 22 percent of all COVID-19 testing in Minnesota this September, the company said in an Oct. 29 news release shared with Becker's.
"Medica's deliberate actions have not only harmed GS Labs, it has made testing harder to get for Minnesotans, because it continues to limit the private sector's efforts to deliver testing to communities that need it," said Kirk Thompson, a partner with GS Labs. "So far, our testing has identified more than 13,000 Minnesotans positive for COVID-19. That’s the equivalent [of] a town the size of Rogers, Minn. being given critical, life-saving medical information to help prevent the spread of a virus that has killed more than 700,000 Americans."
Medica told Becker's that it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
GS Labs is the defendant in lawsuits by Premera Blue Cross and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City over its COVID-19 test claims. GS Labs in August countersued BCBS of Kansas City in response to the insurer's allegations.