The Tamil Nadu government on May 20, Thursday reduced the price of RT-PCR tests from Rs 1200 to Rs 900 in private labs across the state. In a release, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said, "The price of RT-PCR tests for people with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) is reduced from Rs 800 to Rs 550. The prices of pooled samples are reduced from Rs 600 to Rs 400."
He further added, "For the people without CMCHIS, the price of RT-PCR tests will be reduced from Rs 1200 to Rs 900. Additionally, Rs 300 can be charged for home testing.” For the private hospitals that come under CMCHIS, the cost of the RT-PCR tests will be covered by United India Insurance Co. The amount will be given back to the payee after review, the release said.
In June 2020, the Tamil Nadu government capped the cost of hospitalisation for COVID-19 treatment at private hospitals. During the same time, the government capped the cost of RT-PCR testing at Rs 3,000 from Rs 4,500 in private labs in Tamil Nadu. The state government said that an additional Rs 500 can be collected for home tests.
In December of that year, the prices were revised since private companies and education institutions were restarting after the first COVID-19 wave. The government capped the cost of testing as Rs 1,500 and an additional Rs 500 for home testing. The people enrolled with Chief Minister's insurance scheme were charged Rs 1,200 and Rs 9,00 for pooled tests.
As of Wednesday, Tamil Nadu tested 1,70,355 samples from 1,62,401 people between Tuesday and Wednesday. From the tests, 34,875 people were positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of active cases in the state to 2,53,576.
The state also recorded the deaths of 365 patients due to COVID-19. Till now, Tamil Nadu has lost 18,734 people to COVID-19. The capital of Tamil Nadu, Chennai recorded 6,297 new cases on Wednesday.
