Maharashtra Government lowers RT-PCR and fast antigen test fees charged by private labs.

In Maharashtra, the state government decreased the costs paid by commercial laboratories for RT-PCR and quick antigen tests on Monday, in response to the threat posed by the Omicron variant, growing cases, and the prospect of a third wave of Covid-19. All laboratories recognised by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) would be subject to the new charges.

 

The government resolution, which goes into force on December 6, was announced by Public Health Department Undersecretary Archana Walzade. According to the government resolution, labs will charge Rs 300 instead of Rs 500 per RT-PCR test for the collection, transport, and reporting of samples from drive-throughs, sample collection kiosks, drives, Covid care collection centres, hospitals, clinics, and quarantine centres of laboratories, and Rs 500 instead of Rs 600 for the collection of samples from drive-throughs, sample collection kiosks, drives, Covid care collection centres, hospitals, clinics, and quarantine centres of laboratories.

 

In addition, instead of charging Rs 800, labs will charge Rs 700 for collecting a patient's sample from their home, transporting it, analysing it, and reporting it. The government has stated unequivocally that the expense of viral transport medium, personal protective equipment, RNA extraction, and RT-PCR kits will be borne by the individual laboratory. In addition, the government has changed the rates that laboratories charge for quick antigen testing. If the patient attends the lab, the lab may charge Rs 100 per test, Rs 150 for a sample collection from testing centres, and Rs 250 if lab employees come to the patient's home to collect the sample.

 

Labs can charge Rs 200 if the patient visits them, Rs 250 if the sample is obtained from testing centres, and Rs 350 if the sample is collected from the patient's home for enzyme-linked immunoassay, which is a regularly used laboratory test to identify antibodies in the blood.

 

Labs offering Chemi-Luminescence Enzyme Immunoassays (CLIA) tests will charge Rs 300, Rs 400, and Rs 500, according to the government. The government has set a fee of Rs 1,200 per test for Cartridge-Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (CBNAAT).

The government announced its intention follows the Centre's request that Maharashtra ramp up testing, which had slowed during the festive season and since.

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @htTweets