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MANILA, Philippines – A legislator on Sunday urged the Department of Health (DOH) to publish on its website the official prices of the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for coronavirus infection that they offer the public and private laboratories of the country. .
Surigao del Sur representative Johnny Pimentel said he had received reports that several private hospitals were collecting patient samples, sending them to public laboratories for testing for the COVID-19 virus, and then charging patients at exorbitant prices.
“We cannot understand why until now DOH’s Office of Health Services and Facilities Regulatory has not bothered to publish the cost of each COVID-19 PCR test in each licensed laboratory, for all to see. They should stop hiding the cost, ”Pimentel said in a statement.
He demanded “absolute price transparency” to protect the public and help patients choose the trial price they could afford.
“[T]DOH’s failure to promote price transparency from the beginning is the main reason that costs remain high at the expense of consumers, ”he said.
“Price transparency is important because consumers may have to rely on COVID-19 testing for a long time, considering that it can take the government three years to vaccinate 60 percent of the national population against the virus,” he added .
Pimentel also urged DOH to require all labs to prominently display in their facilities and post only one price for the virus test on their websites to discourage hidden charges, including sudden additional charges for so-called quick results. .
New infections
He said private hospitals shouldn’t overcharge their patients if they were taking advantage of public labs.
On Sunday, the DOH reported that 1,085 more people had tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country to 449,400.
Quezon City had the highest number of new infections, 103, followed by Rizal Province (46), Makati City (44), Manila (43), and Pasig City (39).
DOH also reported 9,269 new recoveries, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors in the country to 418,687. But the death toll rose to 8,733 as three more patients had died from the severe respiratory illness.
Recoveries and deaths left the country with 21,980 active cases, of which 84.4 percent were mild, 5.8 percent asymptomatic, 0.33 percent moderate, 3.2 percent severe, and 6.3 percent critical. . –REPORTS FROM NESTOR CORRALES AND DONA Z. PAZZIBUGAN INQ
For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.
What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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