The Supreme Court today took note of the differences in COVID-19 testing charges in various states and asked the centre to fix an upper limit for these tests. “There should be uniformity in COVID-19 test fee. In some states it is Rs 2,200 and in some its Rs 4,500,” the court told the government.
A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and M R Shah, which would pass the order later, observed during the hearing that there should be uniformity in COVID-19 testing charge in all states.
The bench indicated, however, that the court will not venture into the fixation of the charges which will be taken care of by the centre.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the centre, told the court that some states have been negotiating with various stakeholders to ensure that COVID testing charges are reduced. “We should leave to states. Some states may be discussing even lower rates,” he said.
The bench, however, turned down his request and said: “You fix upper limit. States will do rest”.
In Uttar Pradesh, the government has fixed the price of COVID-19 testing by the RT-PCR method not more than Rs 2,500.
In Maharashtra, the worst hit state with 1,20,504 cases — has also capped the price for the COVID-19 tests by private laboratories at Rs 2,200 from the existing maximum price of Rs 4,500.
The RTPCR test for COVID-19 has been capped at Rs 2,200 in Telangana.
– Inputs from various sources