PCR Test Prices Drop, Ministry Of Health Asks Health Office To Give Sanctions If There Are Violations

ILLUSTRATION/PIXABAY

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health has set the highest tariff reduction for the PCR test fee of IDR 495,000 in Java-Bali and IDR 525 thousand outside Java-Bali.

Director-General of Health Services at the Ministry of Health, Abdul Kadir, said that all health care facilities that provide paid PCR must comply with this rule. Kadir asked the local Health Office to oversee its implementation.

"We ask for this supervision to be carried out by the provincial health office, the district, and city health offices. We hope that all of us follow, have good intentions to follow this rule", said Kadir in a virtual press conference, Monday, August 16.

Kadir said that the Regional Health Offices were also asked to impose sanctions if there were health service facilities that violated the new PCR tariff rules.

"The authority to impose sanctions is given to the respective district/city health offices", he said.

It is known, the government has again lowered the price for the highest PCR test that must be applied in private health care facilities from the previous Rp900 thousand. This rate will take effect on August 17th.

The highest tariff limit does not apply to contact tracing activities or referrals for COVID-19 cases to hospitals whose operations receive RT-PCR examination assistance from the government or are part of the COVID-19 patient financing guarantee.

The decrease in the price of the COVID-19 examination is by the results of the evaluation of the Ministry of Health together with the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP).

The evaluation is carried out by calculating the cost of the PCR examination which consists of service components (HR), reagents and consumable medical materials, administrative costs, and other cost components that are adjusted to current conditions.