E-Paper
Kerala HC refuses to stay govt order to cap RT-PCR test at ₹500
A single bench accepted the contention of the government that the decision was based on a study conducted by the Kerala Medical Services Corporation. The government pleader also said the prices of the tests in other states range from ₹400 to ₹600
The Kerala high court on Friday refused to stay a government order reducing the price of RT-PCR tests for Covid-19 from ₹1,700 to ₹500 for private laboratories.
A single bench accepted the contention of the government that the decision was based on a study conducted by the Kerala Medical Services Corporation. The government pleader also said the prices of the tests in other states range from ₹400 to ₹600.
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The petitioners argued that the decision was taken without consultation with private laboratories, and they will incur huge losses if they get a high volume of tests. But the government contended that a testing kit costs ₹270, and the rest can be considered as the fee for human resources, etc.
“The government arrived at the rate after conducting the market study. We also found that charges in many other states like Haryana, Telangana, and Uttarakhand are within the same range. Considering the present situation, we do not find any reason to stay the government order,” the court said.
Many laboratories stopped RT-PCR tests citing losses. Later, the government threatened to confiscate them and prompted 10 leading private laboratories to move the court two weeks back.
