THE Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, announced a reduction in the price cap for the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCT) test for the novel coronavirus.

For RT-PCR tests conducted in public hospitals and laboratories, the price has been reduced to P2,800 for the plate-based procedure and P2,450 for the cartridge-based GeneXpert test.

The previous price cap in government laboratories was P3,800.

In private hospitals and laboratories, the cost was reduced to P3,360 for the plate-based procedure and P2,940 for the cartridge-based GeneXpert test.

The private laboratories may impose a markup of up to 20 percent.

For home service tests, up to P1,000 may be charged on top of the mandated price caps.

These new price caps are contained in DOH Department Circular 2021-0374.

Members of the state-owned Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and their beneficiaries may avail themselves of up to P3,409 benefit package for a complete RT-PCR test with the services and supplies provided by the testing laboratory. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)