Cabinet to mull regulation of COVID test costs
HEALTH MINISTER Dr Christopher Tufton says Cabinet will have to decide on the regulation of costs for COVID-19 tests amid growing concerns in several quarters, including from the country’s most powerful business lobby.
However, intervention to prevent price gouging may pose a prickly problem in a market-driven economy that depends heavily on private-sector investment in battling COVID-19. That crisis is likely to flare with a fourth wave expected in two to three months.
“Regulating test prices would be a Cabinet decision but would be unusual given the free market environment we live in and the fact that those who cannot afford to pay can access free through a public health facility,” Tufton said, adding that the Government provides free tests in the public-health system based on a doctor’s assessment.
Antigen tests – which have faster turnover results but which are less precise than the gold standard PCRs – are acquired at a cost of maximum US$5 by local entities but are administered for as much as US$50.
The minister also said that Cabinet would also have to determine whether free tests will be offered for elective travel.
On Thursday, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) called for affordable and widescale availability of rapid COVID19 testing.
It said that it was a key component to the country’s COVID-19 response and management as the country moves into the endemic stage of the campaign and adapts to living with the virus.
The PSOJ said testing was a luxury for much of the population.
“To date, the testing ecosystem has been criticised for being expensive and inaccessible to a wide cross section of Jamaicans. The average antigen test from a supplier ranges from US$5.50 to US$11 to the labs or healthcare system in Jamaica.
“The consumer then pays approximately $7,500 to be tested. In other countries with decentralised testing, antigen testing costs significantly lower,” the PSOJ said in a press statement, citing consumer prices in Germany and India of less than US$1 and US$3.50, respectively.
The PSOJ also called for the expansion of antigen testing to doctors and recommended that the Government reconsider its policy and allow for the use of all antigen test kits approved by both the World Health Organisation and the United States Food and Drug Administration. Expanding the options would provide the least costly antigen tests, the business group said.
Jamaica allows for the use of only four rapid antigen tests.
The PSOJ is also calling on the Government to approve self-administered tests.
It said that consideration must also be made to increase the COVID-19 test-delivery channels through options such as on-site testing by non-accredited third parties and home/self-testing kits.
The organisation also called for a zero-rate tax on tests.
“We need to shift the power in the hands of the people to complement efforts of the Government and private labs,” said the PSOJ.