Health board backs testing agreement with CARD clinic

Health officials have again sought to put to rest allegations that the Center for Asbestos Related Disease profited off of county coronavirus testing efforts.

During a Dec. 9 board of health meeting, Health Department Director Kathi Hooper laid out the details of the county’s arrangement with the CARD clinic. The facility was selected in the spring to spearhead testing efforts for the county.

About $30,000 from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act was made available to underwrite the plan. At the time, Hooper said, testing for the virus was unavailable at most providers, recalling the widespread shortage of tests.

“The focus was on preserving personal protective equipment and keeping people who were potentially sick out of primary care settings,” Hooper said.

Adding to the attraction, the clinic boasted staff qualified for the work and had ample parking space for traffic control, Hooper said. Early on in the pandemic, officials hosted drive-thru testing at the facility, much of it considered surveillance testing.

Because Dr. Brad Black, the county’s health officer, serves as CARD’s chief executive officer, critics of the pandemic response have pointed to his dual positions as a potential conflict of interest. Others have gone further, accusing Black of profiteering and graft.

A review by the county attorney’s office found that Black did not select CARD as the central testing point for the county. Rather, it was decided by a group of “stakeholders and medical experts,” wrote Deputy County Attorney Jeffrey Zwang.

Zwang’s analysis also noted that Black does not have fiscal oversight of the county health department. Residents, too, are free to choose where they want to get tested if and when they please, Zwang wrote. And tests aren't mandated in Lincoln County.

Hooper told health board members that under the plan developed between the county and clinic, CARD employees submit invoices for any expenses incurred and do not collect a fee per test, as has been alleged.

“The CARD clinic does not profit from testing. They do not receive any test fee,” Hooper said. “The test is free, insurance is not billed and [CARD] submitted invoices to the county to be reimbursed for staff hours and supplies.”

As of Dec. 2, that amount was just under $6,000, Hooper said. She expects demand for testing will increase during the winter. The CARD also could play a role in distributing vaccines as it has cold storage facilities, she said.

While county commissioners earlier dismissed allegations that the CARD clinic profited, health board Chair Jan Ivers said putting the item on her group’s agenda allowed members to voice their support for the arrangement.

Board member Jim Seifert said he had looked further into the arrangement, learning that both the Northwest Community Health Center and Cabinet Peaks Medical Center were unavailable to serve as testing hubs at the time. Both had patients to care for and an uncertain future to plan for, unlike CARD, which had closed its doors early in the pandemic, Seifert said.

Board member Laura Crismore, an employee of Cabinet Peaks, agreed with Seifert’s assessment.

“We also were in favor of the CARD clinic doing [testing],” she said.

Seifert made the motion to endorse the CARD clinic serving as the county’s central testing hub.

That drew a rebuke from resident and former Libby City Councilor DC Orr, who had requested to get on the board’s agenda to discuss the matter. Orr repeatedly has accused Black of using the pandemic to fill his pockets.

“Public comments mean nothing to this group,” Orr said, kicking off a heated exchange with Seifert. “You guys have proven that time after time after time.”

Seifert argued that by taking the question to the county attorney’s office officials had shown that they were responsive to his concerns.

“We don’t think Black profited off of it and we don’t think CARD profiteered and we’re trying to move beyond that,” Seifert replied.

Orr told the board that had they allowed him on the agenda, he would have requested they take the question to the state.

He also urged board members to make Black accountable to the public. There are questions regarding the veracity of the coronavirus tests, he said, and whether or not the pandemic poses a threat to Lincoln County. To date, more than 300,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

“There is no imminent threat,” Orr said. “He only has the authority that he has if there is an imminent threat.”

Orr pointed out that nearly all the residents who have died as a result of the pandemic were 65 years old or more. Thus, an imminent threat to anyone under the age of 65 did not exist, he argued.

Seifert said he hoped that the vote would put an end to Orr’s allegations. County Commissioner Josh Letcher (D-3) in his first appearance on the health board, offered a second to Seifert’s motion. Given that neither the medical center nor community health center had taken issue with the arrangement, he thought it made sense to carry on with CARD.

“[Hooper] has what the reimbursements were and that’s pretty straightforward,” Letcher said. “If we were talking huge dollar values, I think we’d want to be a little more clear in the process. At this point, I don’t see any conflict there, so I will second.”

The board voted 6-0 to endorse the agreement.