Government Asked to Guarantee Availability and Prices of Reagents

Kompas/AGUS SUSANTO

A journalist had his saliva sampled by a health worker in a test using the polymerase chain reaction method at the Press Council Building, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (12/8/2020).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – A number of hospitals in many parts of the country have begun to implement the government’s regulation on the price ceiling for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) nasopharyngeal swab test. However, the price disparities of reagents have hampered the implementation of the price ceiling policy.

The head of the health insurance department of the Indonesian Hospital Association, Daniel Wibowo, said in Jakarta on Tuesday (6/10/2020) that a number of hospitals had set the price of the PCR test at Rp 900,000 (US$62) according to the government’s price ceiling. To ensure that all hospitals can follow the price limit, the government should be able to eliminate the disparities of the reagent prices.

"The price of the PCR test is affected by the price of the reagents. The hospital is waiting for confirmation regarding the price of the reagents. The price ceiling can become an obstacle for hospitals that have to send PCR test samples to other laboratories," he said. The price ceiling set by the government should be ideally implemented at hospitals that have PCR test kits, he said, adding that the price ceiling can also be applied if reagent prices can be lowered.

If there are no subsidies from the government, the PCR test price should be set at least at Rp. 1.2 million.

The price ceiling for independent PCR tests is stipulated in a health minister’s circular. The price ceiling does not apply to contact tracing or referral of Covid-19 cases to hospitals that receive government assistance or the Covid-19 patients who are guaranteed by the government.

The chairman of the Covid-19 Task Force at the Indonesian Medical Association ( IDI), Zubairi Djoerban, said that the price ceiling would be sufficient only to meet hospital service . If the government cannot help provide the reagents, the price ceiling would be too low, he added.

"The Rp 900,000 price is only sufficient for the cost of facilities, such as disinfection and sterilization; disposable health medical tools, including personal protective equipment. If there are no subsidies from the government, the PCR test price should be set at least at Rp. 1.2 million, "he said.

Also read: Price Ceiling for Covid-19 Swab Test Set at Rp 900,000

KOMPAS/KORNELIS KEWA AMA

Kupang Biomolecular Laboratory, conducts PCR tests from 22 districts / cities in NTT.

Openness needed

"The prices of PCR equipment and reagents vary, depending on the volume purchased by health facilities,” said the head of the association of the Indonesian experts of health economics, Hasbullah Thabrany. The government and health facilities need to be open in calculating price components, such as the operating costs of the buildings, the procurement of equipment as well as human resources so that the average prices of the medical services can be determined, he added.

Health facilities need to disclose data on the types of PCR tools they use as well as data on reagents, and volume of purchases. "There is a regulation that the profit margin for health facilities in the handling of Covid-19 cannot exceed 15 percent, including return on investment," he said.

Also read: Covid-19 Antigen Tests to Expand Test Coverage

Health facilities mostly consider that their PCR testing services are not intended to generate profits. The government should take the initiative to encourage health facilities to purchase of PCR equipment and reagents from appointed companies that can provide affordable prices.

The acting director general of health services at the Health Ministry, Abdul Kadir, said the price ceiling should be implemented by all health facilities, both hospitals, clinics, and laboratories, which provide PCR tests. Regarding the procurement and varying prices of reagents, he promised that the ministry would try to eliminate the price disparities.

Provincial or regency health offices should oversee the implementation of the price ceiling. "The local government is responsible for ensuring that the price ceiling is implemented properly," he said.

Also read: Covid-19 Becoming Uncontrollable

Kompas/AGUS SUSANTO

A man undergoes a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or swab test at Moh Ridwan Meuraksa Hospital, East Jakarta, Tuesday (16/6/2020). The mobile testing will serve people who have registered through the Covid-19 monitoring app and the results will be sent to their respective mobile phones.

The head of the Jakarta Health Service, Widyastuti, said that she would hold a meeting with laboratory managers in the city to evaluate the price ceiling for the PCR tests.

Meanwhile, the price ceiling has not been fully implemented in the Greater Tangerang area. Eka Hospital and Medika BSD Hospital, for example, are still discussing the price policy internally. Meanwhile, Premier Bintaro Hospital has begun to implement the price ceiling since Tuesday.

Also read: Health Protocols Must Apply to Every Sector of Life, Without Exception

The acting head of the South Tangerang Health Office, Deden Deni, said that the local government was following up the PCR test price policy by sending the health minister’s circular to all health facilities in the regency that provided PCR testing services.

A number of hospitals in Palembang, South Sumatra, hope that there will be standardization and a recalculation of the price ceiling for the PCR tests. The price set is considered to be far below the operational costs of the laboratory or hospital that provides PCR tests.

Based on the Covid-19 Handling Task Force report, on 6 Oct. 2020, the daily tally of the new Covid-19 cases reached a total of 4,056 positive cases. (TA N/ L A S / H L N/ D N E /IG A/GIO/RAM)