DOH had moved to regulate the cost of the RT-PCR test for COVID-19.
The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday had moved to regulate the cost of the Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test for COVID-19.
This, as Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday said in an online forum that they submitted a recommendation for an Executive Order because they noticed the different pricing in different laboratories on how much an RT-PCR test costs.
“Sana maaprubahan itong recommendation namin,” Vergeire said.
In a report on GMA News Online, RT-PCR tests cost ranging from PHP 4,600 to PHP 8,150, adding that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) covered the cost of RT-PCR tests of up to PHP 3,409.
Vergeire said that the issuance of Executive Order would address the situation since existing laws were not specific on the costs of diagnostic tests.
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Meanwhile, the Philippines has tested 3.1 million Filipinos for coronavirus disease using the Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction test so far.
As per the report, there were at least 120 RT-PCR laboratories in the Philippines that were processing COVID-19 swab test results.
The Department of Health had recorded a total of 286,743 coronavirus cases in the Philippines as of this writing. Of this, 51,894 were recorded as total active cases, 229,865 were recorded as total recoveries, and 4,984 were recorded as total deaths.
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