PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Wednesday that South Dakota consumers will receive $50,380.00 as part of a $4.87 million multistate settlement with GS Labs. The 18-state agreement resolves claims that the COVID-19 testing company overcharged patients, unlawfully charged administrative fees, and failed to deliver timely results.

The settlement addresses nationwide testing practices from 2020 through 2022. For residents in Rapid City and across the state, the agreement provides direct financial remedy for individuals impacted by deceptive billing and delayed services during the pandemic.

“South Dakota consumers were misled by GS Lab’s promises that were never kept,” Jackley said. “This settlement negotiated by South Dakota and the other states means our consumers will receive restitution.”

Investigators found that GS Labs intentionally advertised inflated cash prices for COVID-19 tests, sometimes reaching up to $380 per individual test or nearly $1,000 for multi-panel tests. The company utilized these inflated numbers to justify overcharging patients with insurance coverage. While a discount was offered to actual cash-paying customers, nearly 30,000 patients nationwide still paid well above the established market rate.

Additionally, GS Labs guaranteed test results within three days but failed to deliver that timeline to hundreds of thousands of patients, occasionally taking a week or longer to return results. The company also advertised zero out-of-pocket costs for insured patients but proceeded to charge administrative fees as high as $49 per test to approximately 70,000 consumers.

Under the specific terms of the settlement, GS Labs will pay $3,628,718.34 in total nationwide patient restitution. This total includes $1,843,375.99 for overcharged cash-paying patients, $1,749,568.35 for patients forced to pay administrative fees, and $33,692 for cash-paying individuals who did not receive their results within the promised three-day window.

Beyond consumer restitution, GS Labs will pay $1.25 million to the participating multistate group. South Dakota will receive $16,669.99 from this portion, which is designated for the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division to help protect residents in communities like Rapid City from future deceptive practices.

The bipartisan settlement was co-led and negotiated by the attorneys general of Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Washington. Joining South Dakota in the agreement are Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.