Govt fixes price for chikungunya test at Rs 1,500, issues notice

NEW DELHI: It’s official. No hospital or laboratory in Delhi can charge more than Rs 1,500 for the confirmatory RT-PCR ( Reverse Transcryptase – Polymerase Chain

NEW DELHI: It’s official. No hospital or laboratory in Delhi can charge more than Rs 1,500 for the confirmatory RT-PCR ( Reverse Transcryptase – Polymerase Chain Reaction) test for chikungunya.

HT Image

Two weeks after the health minister made the announcement capping the price for the test, the government issued a notification on Monday. In the interim, the hospitals and private diagnostic laboratories were charging patients Rs 2,500 – Rs 4,000.

In the same period, 625 cases of chikungunya were recorded in the capital.

The RT-PCR test, which usually costs between at private laboratories, is more sensitive and can detect chikungunya almost immediately after the onset of fever. The less expensive antigen tests takes four to six days.

The price of chikungunya serology IGM test was also capped at Rs 600 by the government. It usually costs between Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 at private labs.

“The notification to cap the price of the antigen test was issued immediately to all the private hospitals, nursing homes and laboratories immediately,” a Delhi government official said,

“But, the notification for capping of RT-PCR price was sent out today,” the official said, not giving any particular reason for the delay.

The municipal corporations of Delhi on Monday reported a total of 1,057 cases of chikungunya in Delhi and NCR.

Doctors in the city, however, suspect that the actual number of cases is higher as many people do not get the test done.

“The fever subsides in four or five days. Once people start feeling better, they do not come back for antibody test,” a doctor from a Delhi government hospital said, on condition of anonymity.

“And, they do not get the PCR confirmatory test done, especially in private hospitals, because of the high cost,” the doctor said.

In preparation for dengue, the government last month had capped the prices of NS1-Ag and MAC ELISA test for dengue at Rs 600 and test for platelet count at Rs 50.