Nograles: Gov’t may assess price of RT-PCR tests anew as COVID-19 cases spike

MANILA, Philippines — Acting presidential spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Monday said that it may be time for the government to assess the price of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for COVID-19 amid spiking infections.

“Maybe we can start assessing again the prices, although we went through two cycles of putting those caps on the RT-PCR,” Nograles said on ANC’s Headstart.

READ: Gov’t sets price range for COVID-19 RT-PCR testing

“So, maybe, it can be something that we can explore again or the DOH (Department of Health) can explore again,” he added.

Currently, the RT-PCR price cap ranges from around P1,000 to P3,000.

READ: DOH lowers price cap for RT-PCR testing

Nograles noted that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) covers the RT-PCR cost as long as the testing is conducted in hospitals.

“Sa amin naman, covered naman ng PhilHealth din ‘yung (PhilHealth covers the) RT-PCR, if you’re in the hospital and you get swabbed then that’s covered by PhilHealth,” he explained.

“Ang hindi (What is not) covered is if you take an RT-PCR on your own, which some of us need to do for our protection, safety, and also for COVID especially if you have symptoms,” continued Nograles.

Based on DOH’s latest data, of the 26,122 individuals tested on December 31, there is a 19.6-percent positivity rate, higher than the World Health Organization’s positivity rate benchmark of five percent or lower.

READ: Mass testing pushed as PH logs 4,600 new COVID-19 cases

je