After Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra Caps Covid Test Fee In Private Labs
These state moves come after ICMR withdrew the all-India price cap it had set, giving states a free hand to negotiate.
Maharashtra, the state with the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India, joined Tamil Nadu to cap the rates private labs can charge for swab tests.
The state capped the price of the Reverse Transcription–Polymerase Chain Reaction test, the gold standard for screening against the novel coronavirus, at about Rs 2,200, according to an ANI report. When samples are collected from home, the RT-PCR test can’t cost more than Rs 2,800, including the transportation fee.
The Indian Council of Medical Research had earlier capped the price of an RT-PCR test at Rs 4,500. But it has now withdrawn the all-India cap, giving states the freedom to negotiate with the approved laboratories. Last week, Tamil Nadu capped the price of the swab test at Rs 3,000, with an additional Rs 500 for a home visit.
The Maharashtra government had set up a four-member panel, headed by Dr Sudhakar Shinde, the chief executive officer of the State Health Assurance Society, to negotiate with the laboratories. Last month, the state had capped the rates private and trust-run hospitals can charge for treatment and procedures related to the new coronavirus.
The cap on test price comes when the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the state has crossed 1 lakh, accounting for a third of the all-India tally. While Maharashtra ranks second after Tamil Nadu in the number of tests per million people, it lags smaller peers such as Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Tripura.