Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday put private hospitals and diagnostic clinics on notice that they would face prosecution if they charged excess from citizens for the RT-PCR test for detecting COVID-19 infection quickly.
Mr. Vijayan said the government had set the rate for the test at ₹500. It had fixed the cost for the test after studying the current market price of RT-PCR field test kits.
However, the government had received petitions that some private labs and hospitals charged up to ₹1,500 and above for a test despite the government order. The administration would crack down on the malpractice, Mr. Vijayan said.
The RT-PCR test was currently a prerequisite for air travel and various other necessities, including journeying across State borders.
Moreover, Congress legislators Shafi Parambil and K.S. Sabarinathan had moved the High Court to prevent private entities from exacting a high cost from the public for conducting COVID-19 diagnostic test. They alleged in their petitions that private hospitals and diagnostic laboratories routinely charged up to ₹1,700 for an RT-PCR test that cost less than ₹300. Similarly they exacted ₹600 for antigen tests that cost less than ₹125.
The Health Department has communicated the government’s decision to players in the medical sector.
