Government Will Set Swab Test Prices At Private Hospitals

Illustration of a swab test (Wardhany Tsa Tsia / VOI)

JAKARTA - The government will set a price limit for swab tests at private health facilities. This is done so that these private health facilities do not charge too high a price for the people who will carry out the testing independently.

"For people who carry out tests independently at private health facilities, we will also immediately make arrangements for prices so that they are not too high, causing objections from the public," said Wiku Adisasmito, spokesman for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force in a press conference broadcast on the Secretariat's YouTube account. President, Tuesday, August 18.

He said, this swab test was actually also intended to carry out contact tracing against the spread of COVID-19. Moreover, currently the rapid test is not accurate enough to detect the virus.

Furthermore, Wiku emphasized that the swab test for patients infected with COVID-19 is free of charge. Provided, the testing is carried out using health facilities that are referred to by the government.

"In principle, if the swab test is on a patient and is carried out at a government referral health facility, the swab test is free. Likewise in the context of contact tracing, if the swab is tested it will be borne by the government," he said.

It is known that the price of swabbing tests at a number of private health facilities has received the spotlight. For one time testing with this method, the community has to spend up to IDR 1 million to IDR 2 million.

Meanwhile, the cost of checking through a rapid test or rapid test is indeed cheaper. On average, each person only needs to pay around Rp. 200,000 to Rp. 500,000 for one examination.