The Massachusetts state attorney general said he is reviewing court cases opposing testing sites across the state that were recently forced to close after operating without a license.
The State Department of Public Health on Thursday issued stop and desist letters to 3 sites in Worcester, Needham, and Dartmouth, all run by the Center for COVID Control across the country.
Each location said it provides loose instant antigens and PCR to people who enter without an appointment. But the sites have never received licenses to operate a clinical lab and analyze results, fitness officials said.
State and local governments have also won court cases from citizens for weeks of delays in receiving check results.
“They were kind of flying under the radar,” Worcester Inspector Christopher Spencer said. “They were new and you can see they exploded everywhere. “
Spencer said the Center for COVID Control has not reached out to the state or localities to open its Massachusetts sites. The Worcester site opened in an empty store as a pop-up testing location, and claimed to be at 1 Acton St. but it was on Grafton Street
Worcester officials only became aware of the location and began investigating once they won court cases over long outdoor lines and delays in receiving results, Spencer said.
A spokesman for the state attorney general’s office said it is investigating whether the testing sites violated customer coverage or committed other irregularities.
The Center for COVID Control won the complaint about its sites across the country. Several states, in addition to Oregon and Illinois, are also investigating the company, with the Better Business Bureau giving it an “F” rating.
In a statement, the Center for COVID Control said it is “proud of its services” but is temporarily halting operations as strong customer demand emphasizes staffing resources and affects “usual visitor service criteria. “
“Unfortunately, due to our immediate expansion and recent call for unprecedented testing, we have not been able to meet all of our commitments,” said Aleya Siyaj, founder and executive director of the Center for COVID Control.
In Massachusetts, the company will want to obtain the proper licenses to reopen its sites.
Spencer said testing sites ask consumers for insurance information, though the tests are meant to be free. He said it implied the sites would bill insurance companies without patients’ knowledge.
“I don’t think they’re sponsored by a wealthy benefactor to do this just for the public good,” Spencer said.
The attorney general’s office declined to say whether it is investigating in particular whether the Center for COVID Control improperly billed insurers. But asking for insurance information, even when a COVID check is loose, is not unusual at some verification sites.
As the existing outbreak of the omicron variant continues, state and local officials say the closure of the 3 control sites does not restrict the source of controls. Officials urge citizens to locate approved checkpoints on the website of the state’s fitness ministry.
“It would inspire the public to move to reputable retail outlets, pharmacies that have licenses,” Spencer said. “And some of the other test sites running at local hospitals and the Department of Health are still very smart options. “
Sam Turken is the Worcester reporter for GBH News, covering housing, the environment, and social and economic justice.
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