Arizona settles with blood-testing firm, thousands to receive refund checks
Dec 14, 2017, 4:01 PM
(Wikimedia Commons Photo)
PHOENIX — For once, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has no problem with some residents receiving unsolicited checks in the mail starting Friday.
Brnovich announced Thursday that over 76,000 checks worth an average of $61 will be mailed to Arizonans who had blood work done at health-tech company Theranos Inc.
“[Unsolicited checks] are usually some of kind of scam, but I will tell you what — if you get a check with our logo on it with a letter explaining … that check is OK,” Brnovich told KTAR News 92.FM’s Arizona Morning News.
The refunds checks were the $4.6 million settlement reached in April over inaccurate testing conducted from 2013 to 2016. Clients will receive a full refund of their test costs and one will receive $3,400.
“When we knew there were blood tests that were inaccurate or misleading, we felt it was imperative to go after Theranos,” Brnovich said.
“We felt there was a violation of our Arizona protection laws.”
Brnovich said lawyers for Theranos argued that only about 10 percent of the tests were inaccurate and asking for money for everyone tested was unfair.
“We insisted,” he said.
The attorney general’s office accused Theranos of misrepresenting the method, accuracy, and reliability of its blood testing and that the company wasn’t in compliance with federal regulations.
If an Arizonan who bought a blood test from Theranos does not get a refund check, the or she should call check issuer Settlement Administrator Rust Consulting at 1-800-841-6763.