State govt caps price of Covid-19 tests at ₹2,200

The state government on Saturday capped the price for Covid-19 tests (RT-PCR) in private laboratories at ₹2,200, down from the existing maximum price of ₹4,500.

The state government on Saturday capped the price for Covid-19 tests (RT-PCR) in private laboratories at ₹2,200, down from the existing maximum price of ₹4,500. The charge can go up to ₹2,800 in case of home swab collection and delivering reports home.

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State health minister Rajesh Tope announced the decision after a committee of senior health department officials submitted a report. Tope said the price of the test in Maharashtra, the worst-hit state , is now the lowest in the country. The minister said that against the backdrop of testing being done in large numbers and the drop in prices of kits , the decision to reduce the prices of the tests was justified. He said that the four-member committee had given its recommendation for the revision in prices after analysing every aspect related to the cost incurred for the test.

“Maharashtra has conducted the highest number of tests and the count is more than 6.25 lakh tests from 95 laboratories, including 42 private laboratories, across the state. The ICMR protocol for RT-PCR tests remains the same and there would be no compromise on quality. This has been another decision in the interest of the public and in the direction of curbing profiteering,” Tope said.

He said that the home test charges, too, have been brought down to ₹2,800 from ₹5,200.

The committee appointed under Dr Sudhakar Shinde, the state health assurance society’s CEO, submitted its report in a week.