Mumbai: In a much needed relief to citizens amidst rising coronavirus cases, the Maharashtra government on Saturday has reduced by almost 50% the rates of the COVID-19 tests conducted by private laboratories to Rs 2,200 from Rs 4,500. Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope told FPJ: "Rs 2,200 will be charged for collecting the swabs through viral transport media (VTM) from hospitals, while it would cost Rs 2,800 for collection of swab from home.
Earlier,the charges were Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,200 respectively.The revised rates are the maximum these labs can charge. District collectors can negotiate with private labs to reduce the rates further. Maharashtra is the only state in the country which has such low price for corona testing.’’ Tope informed that a government notification in this regard will be issued soon. Tope, however, warned that if private laboratories charge more than the prescribed limit,the government will initiate legal action against them. He reiterated that the revised rates are the lowest rates across the country.
The minister said Maharashtra has done the highest number of corona tests in the country. ‘’At present, there are 53 government and 42 private laboratories for corona diagnosis. Maximum corona tests were done in Mumbai,’’ he noted. He informed that four to five more laboratories are in the offing. The government had last week formed a four-member committee to fix the rates of COVID-19 tests conducted by authorised private laboratories. State Health Assurance Society CEO Sudhakar Shinde headed the committee, which had Joint Director of Directorate of Medical Education and Research Ajay Chandanwale and Grant Government Medical College and Hospital professor Amita Joshi a sits members and Health Services director as membersecretary.
In a related move, Tope said that the government will issue directives to the district collectors to requisition ambulances for the timely transfer of patients to the hospitals. ‘’There are complaints with regard to higher charges recovered by the ambulance providers. The government wants to cap these charges,’’ he added. The government’s move came close on the heels of instances in which COVID 19 patients were charged between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for a short distance ambulance ride. Furthermore, there are also cases where patients are finding it difficult to get the ambulances on time due to higher charges demanded by the operators.
