Gujarat govt slashes RT-PCR test, HRCT scan rates

GANDHINAGAR: The state government announced on Wednesday that rates of RT-PCR tests and HRCT scans have been slashed.
Private laboratories will now charge Rs 400 instead of Rs 700 for conducting RT-PCR tests. For RT-PCR samples collected from homes or hospitals, private laboratories cannot charge more than Rs 550, a reduction of Rs 350 from the existing rate of Rs 900, deputy chief minister Nitin Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar.
In another significant discount, RT-PCR tests conducted by private laboratories for passengers at airports in the state will now cost Rs 2,700, a reduction of Rs 1,300 from the existing Rs 4,000.
Patel further said private radiology centres cannot charge more than Rs 2,500 for a high-resolution CT (HRCT) scan. This is a reduction of Rs 500 from the earlier fixed charges of Rs 3,000. The HR-CT scan is vital to ascertain Covid-19 infection in patients.
The decision to reduce the rates of RT-PCR tests has been taken keeping in mind the drop in the prices of kits used in these tests, and as part of the state government’s preparation for a possible third wave of the pandemic, he added.
Providing figures, Patel said that 1,66,99,857 RT-PCR tests and 91,55,936 Rapid Antigen Tests have been conducted in Gujarat. “For those who seek to get themselves tested in private laboratories, the state government had reduced the rates on two occasions in the past. The price of kits used in RT-PCR tests has also come down. So a government core committee has decided to slash the cost of tests,” Patel said.
He said the health department has launched measures to tackle a possible third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The first thing to ascertain if a patient is Covid-19 positive or not is the RT-PCR test,” Patel added.