COVID testing company will shut down its last sites in Alaska

One of Alaska’s largest private COVID-19 testing providers plans to close its public testing sites in the state by the end of June.

The decision by the private company will not affect SEARHC’s continuation of testing services in Wrangell.

The decision by Capstone Clinic is mainly driven by financial considerations, said Matt Jones, Capstone’s director of non-clinical operations.

Jones said it began with an abrupt move by the federal government earlier this year to no longer cover the costs of COVID-19 tests or treatments for those without health insurance. Low testing volume in recent weeks compounded the financial concerns, he said.

At one point during a surge in cases driven by the omicron variant, the company performed about 3,000 tests per day, he said. By this month, the number was closer to 200 or 250 tests per day statewide.

“While we were happy to provide testing for the public as long as we possibly could, we can’t do it to the detriment of our own company,” Jones said.

Capstone’s remaining public testing sites include locations in Anchorage, Wasilla, Eagle River, Juneau, Ketchikan and Fairbanks.

SEARHC continues to offer testing at the Wrangell Medical Center. “Testing is still available for symptomatic patients or those who were close contacts or need a test for travel purposes,” Randi Yancey, medical office coordinator for the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, said in an email last week.

“We have, however, reduced the testing hours. They are now scheduled between 9 a.m. and noon Monday through Friday,” Yancey said. People can call SEARHC at 907-874-7000 to schedule an appointment.

“We also have home test kits available for pick up at the pharmacy at no cost,” Yancey said last Thursday.

Jones said there has been a broader, nationwide shift away from mass clinic-based PCR testing to home tests, which health officials have said are considered less sensitive than molecular-based tests but still accurate when used correctly.

During the height of the pandemic, Capstone operated 21 testing and vaccination sites in Alaska. In some communities, it was the sole provider.

An Alaska Department of Health spokesman said there are still some community testing sites around the state hosted by other organizations or that are privately run.

SEARHC, which operates the Wrangell Medical Center and provides health care services in 18 other Southeast communities, has administered more than 207,000 COVID-19 tests across the region during the pandemic, according to a June 6 website posting.

Of those, 7,228 tests confirmed an infection.

State health officials on June 15 reported 640 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wrangell since the count started more than two years ago.