Private labs may stop Covid-19 tests if Maharashtra’s reduced rates are applied

NAGPUR: The state government’s decision to reduce Covid-19 testing prices from Rs4,500 to Rs2,200 has drawn sharp reaction among owners of private laboratories in the city because they feel the new testing prices is not going to help meeting even the infrastructure expenses. Most of them hints at closing down the business to avoid losses.
“We will stop doing Covid-19 tests if revised rates are applied in Nagpur,” said Dr Rajkumar Rathi, whose lab has received approval to test Covid-19 samples just three days ago. According to him, proprietors of private laboratories have spend lakhs of rupees to meet the ICMR requirements for Covid-19 testings.
“The machine costs more than Rs25 lakh. A simple but needful independent refrigerator to store samples costs Rs3.50 lakh. Staff and technicians who are working in Covid lab get additional payment for their job. In Rs2,200 per test, it’s impossible to recover this money,” Rathi said.
Dr Shailesh Mundhada of Dhruva Pathology Laboratory said that it will be difficult to manage testing at such a low price.
“Lot of expenses other than machine and kits are involved in testing. NABL accreditation, PPE kits for staff, biomedical waste disposal, Covid-19 insurance for our staff and many other expenses are there. The state government should have taken into consideration all these heads,” he said, adding that some reduction was necessary but these rates were too low.
A senior official from one of the government labs in the city told TOI that private labs were a good addition into the city’s testing capacity. “Testing had become very easy for those who could pay for it. Now, all have to wait for government labs. Many may not come forward for testing,” he said.