MUMBAI: The state slashed rates for RT-PCR, rapid antigen and antibody tests further on Monday. Now, getting an RT-PCR test in a hospital or a laboratory in Maharashtra will cost Rs 500 and home collection Rs 700.
The public health department issued a notification on the new rates which will be applicable at all centres, including the airport.
This is the sixth time the government has reduced the price of Covid-19 tests since June 2020. From Rs 4,500 initially, the price of RT-PCR was lowered to Rs 1,600 in September, Rs 850 in December and now to Rs 500. The rate for bulk testing by government agencies has been fixed at Rs 350, a reduction from Rs 500.
Dr Sudhakar Shinde, CEO of the State Health Assurance Society who helped draft the government scheme to cap services during the Covid pandemic, said the latest revision has been carried out after almost nine months. “Availability of raw materials is better. Moreover, the volume of tests is likely to go up in the next few months. We felt these factors make it the ideal time for a rate revision,” he told TOI
The price of CBNAAT (cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test) tests has also been cut from Rs 3,000 to Rs 1,200. CBNAAT tests can detect Covid in two hours.
The state has also revised the rates for rapid antigen tests and the Covid-19 antibodies test using the ELISA or CLIA method. An antigen test will now cost Rs 100 if a person goes to a lab or a hospital. The same test would cost Rs 150 if carried out in a kiosk or a place of mass collection and home collection will cost Rs 250, down from Rs 300.
A person going to a lab for an antibody test will have to pay Rs 200 and Rs 300 for ELISA and CLIA respectively. While home collection will cost Rs 350 and Rs 500 for ELISA and CLIA respectively.
Regarding the other rapid test at the airport that detects Covid-19 in five minutes, an official said, “We have been told it is new technology. We are reviewing these methods and will decide on cost soon,’’ said the official. There has been public outcry over the cost difference between the regular RT-PCR tests, which give results in 4-6 hours, and the new rapid tests.
