MUMBAI: Maharashtra government has taken a big decision on Saturday of reducing the COVID-19 swab testing cost by almost 50 per cent in the private testing lab.
State health minister Rajesh Tope said the government had constituted an expert committee to study the cost of testing and the rates had been slashed based on its recommendations.
“The cost of home testing has been brought down from Rs 5,200 to Rs 4,500 while testing at the lab will now cost Rs 2,200 instead of Rs 4,500. This decision will help many go for Covid-19 testing at a reasonable rate in Maharashtra,” Tope said.
The revised rates are the maximum these labs can charge. District collectors can negotiate with private labs to reduce rates further.
“If the private labs charge more than the prescribed upper limit, legal action would be taken against them,” the minister said, claiming that the new rates will be the lowest in the country.
“Maharashtra will be the first state to conduct Covid tests at such fair and affordable rates.”The tests are free at the government-run laboratories while the ICMR had fixed charges at private labs at Rs 4,500.
Tope said a total of 95 laboratories in the state are conducting Covid-19 test, out of which 42 are private labs.
Four-five more labs are in the pipeline, he added.The expert committee suggested the rates after calculating various costs such as equipment used, manpower etc.
The committee, headed by Sudhakar Shinde, CEO of Mahatma Jyotibha Phule Arogya Yojana, and comprising health director Sadhana Tayade, Ajay Chandanwale, Joint Director of Directorate of Medical Education and Research, and Amita Joshi, Grant Government Medical College and Hospital professor was formed on June 2.
Tope said Maharashtra has conducted 6.24 lakh tests so far, out of which 1.01 lakh (16.19%) turned out to be positive. “We are conducting the test as per the ICMR guidelines and there is no compromise in testing. The maximum number of testing is happening in Mumbai in the state,” the health minister informed.
Bombay HC says no to drug trial
The Bombay High Court, on Friday, refused to pass an order directing the government authorities to conduct trials of possible COVID-19 drugs or treatment on inmates of jails or correctional homes who have contracted coronavirus.
On whom medical trials should be conducted is a matter of government policy and the court would not interfere in that, said a division bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice SS Shinde here on Friday.