Unapproved COVID-19 test site in Santa Fe closed indefinitely

Sean P. Thomas, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read

Jan. 23—The Illinois-based operator of an unapproved COVID-19 testing site in Santa Fe says that location, as well as some 300 other sites across the country, will remain closed indefinitely amid a mounting number of complaints and investigations.

Center for COVID Control earlier announced a pause for all of its sites between Jan. 14 and Friday. A Thursday update on the company's website states that sites will be closed "until further notice" to allow for more staff training, among other things.

The company, which has been in business since 2020 and is based in Rolling Meadows, Ill., has faced complaints about issues such as customer service, unhygienic practices, and tardy or potentially falsified test results. Company representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

Center for COVID Control operates two sites in New Mexico, one in the corner of the south-side Sprouts parking lot and the other in Albuquerque. Neither is on the state Department of Health's list of approved testing sites.

The New Mexico Attorney General's Office is investigating and is assisting the state Department of Health, according to a statement Saturday. More information about the investigation wasn't available.

In a statement last week, Center for COVID Control said it was overwhelmed due to an increase in daily testing numbers. It says it has 3,000 employees and that it tested 8,000 people a day across 27 states.

The complaints have prompted regulators across the country to open investigations, including the Oregon Department of Justice and the Illinois and Minnesota attorney general's offices. The Better Business Bureau has given the company an F rating.

A lawsuit by the Minnesota attorney general against Center for COVID Control and its associated clinical lab, Doctors Clinical Laboratory Corp., alleges the company failed to provide COVID-19 results, provided untimely results and falsified test results.

The lawsuit alleges the company cut corners in its intake process by listing customers as uninsured instead of entering their insurance information. It also claims tests that arrived at Doctors Clinical Laboratory Corp. could be found in trash bags in the office without any tracking system.

The lawsuit states that the company has billed the federal government nearly $113 million for testing services for uninsured customers, many of whom had insurance. It accuses the company of instructing employees to tell customers their results were inconclusive, resulting in another billed test.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told CNN on Friday it was investigating "numerous complaints" about Center for COVID Control labs and testing sites.