In 2015, Rep. Heather Carter pushed HB2645 that allowed Arizonans to order any laboratory test they want without requiring a doctor’s order. The majority of states allow this direct testing, but Carter’s bill made Arizona the first state in the nation to most explicitly deregulate it. At the time Carter claimed in a press release that Theranos “is already providing individuals better access to the health information they need. Arizonans from all across the state travel to their labs inside 40 Walgreens stores in the Phoenix area. It is the first market in what the two companies say will be a partnership throughout greater Arizona and the nation.”
Last week, Walgreens announced that it has informed Theranos that it would terminate its relationship and closing operations at all 40 Theranos Wellness Centers at its stores in Arizona, effective immediately.
This follows the company’s decision in January to halt Theranos laboratory testing services at its Palo Alto, Calif., location, and means Walgreens will no longer offer Theranos services at any of its stores.
“In light of the voiding of a number of test results, and as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has rejected Theranos’ plan of correction and considers sanctions, we have carefully considered our relationship with Theranos and believe it is in our customers’ best interests to terminate our partnership,” said Brad Fluegel, Walgreens Senior Vice President and Chief Health Care Commercial Market Development Officer.
In January, Walgreens informed Theranos that it must immediately cease sending clinical laboratory tests provided through its Wellness Centers at Walgreens to the Theranos lab in Newark, Calif., which has been the subject of ongoing CMS review.
At the same time, Walgreens also informed Theranos that tests collected at its Wellness Centers at Walgreens stores in Arizona must be sent only to Theranos’ certified lab in the Phoenix area or to an accredited third-party lab for analysis. No patient samples were to be sent to the Newark lab until all issues raised by CMS have been fully resolved.
According to Newsweek, “Arizona was supposed to be a stepping stone for Theranos, a company once valued at $9 billion, in becoming a national biotech superpower. It was supposed to upend the $75 billion annual blood testing industry with its own lab machine called Edison. Now Arizona is the company’s last stronghold after investigations by The Wall Street Journal and the federal government raised concerns about inconsistent test results and quality control problems, sending the company’s reputation and valuation tumbling down. In January, California shuttered the company’s blood testing labs, and Pennsylvania put an end to Theranos stores.”