JAKARTA - The government has several times lowered the price of the COVID-19 PCR test from the initial million to only Rp275,000 for the Java-Bali area and Rp300 thousand for outside Java-Bali. Even so, many parties are still not satisfied with the price.
Bio Farma together with the Pharmaceutical SOE Holding realized that the price still had a gap to be lowered. What is the amount of the decrease, Director of Bio Farma Honesti Basyir admitted that he was doing the simulation.
"We don't know what percentage of the decrease, but we are still trying to do the simulation again," said Bio Farma President Director Honesti Basyir in a Hearing Meeting with Commission VI DPR RI in Jakarta, Tuesday, November 10.
He gave an example, the cost of the Bio Saliva PCR test by gargling, the price can be lowered, by lowering the cost of PPE because in carrying out this test health workers do not need PPE. In addition, the Bio Saliva PCR test can be carried out in bulk, so that it can accurately estimate the production volume for Bio Saliva.
Separately, the Chair of the Pro-Democracy Activist Network Assembly (ProDEM) Iwan Sumule assessed that the price of a PCR test of Rp275 thousand was still relatively high. Moreover, former Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti said the price of PCR in India was in the range of Rp96 thousand.
He then mentioned the price of PCR tests at the beginning of the pandemic which was up to millions of rupiah. This means, he said, the advantages of the PCR test are many. Even after being lowered to Rp275 thousand, it is still 3 times more expensive.
"In India, it's only Rp96 thousand? The PCR test traders make a lot of profit," said Iwan to reporters, Thursday, October 28.
Iwan assessed that the high test rate was due to PCR traders taking part in regulating government policies. So, what they think about is only business in order to make a profit, not to save the people.
"In fact, handling COVID-19 and public safety is the responsibility of the state," said Iwan.
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Meanwhile, Deputy Chairperson of the DPR RI PKS Faction Netty Prasetiyani, assessed that the cost of the PCR test should be borne by the state, not the people. This is because the use of the PCR test is in the government's interest to control the pandemic by prioritizing the precautionary principle.
"It should not be the people who bear the high prices, but the government is present in the community with its authority and authority to control prices and ensure that there are no stowaways or parties who deliberately seek profit in the midst of the national disaster of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Netty, Thursday, October 28.
According to the PKS politician, the repeated price declines of up to Rp275,000 in the near future have fueled the public's assumption that there is an economic motive behind it. "What is the actual unit cost of a PCR test?" asked this member of Commission IX DPR RI.
Netty said that repeated price reductions would not solve the existing problem. So, it is hoped that the government will soon bear the cost of the PCR test.
"Reduced prices do not solve the problem because the policy has caused quite a commotion, there is even a petition that has been signed by more than 40 thousand people," said Netty.
Previously, the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Budi Gunadi Sadikin ensured that the government would not disburse subsidy funds to reduce the rate of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
"The government does not plan for subsidies because if we look at the price, especially if it has been lowered, it is already quite cheap," said Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a press conference attended by YouTube Ekonomi RI in Jakarta, Tuesday, October 26.
Budi said the price of PCR in Indonesia, which was originally set at Rp900 thousand per person, was already 25 percent lower than the price of PCR at other airports in the world.
"So if, for example, it is lowered to Rp300 thousand, it might be the cheapest compared to the price of PCR airports in the world," he said.
He said India is still the country with the cheapest PCR tariffs in the world besides China.
"At the bottom, India is very cheap at Rp160,000. But indeed, India makes it domestically and then the economy develops because it also has a lot of people," he said.
According to Budi, the PCR rate determined by President Joko Widodo of Rp300,000, is the cheapest compared to the price of PCR tests around the world at airports.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
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