Free COVID-19 testing only for poor: SC India

The Supreme Court of India said today that free testing for COVID-19 will be available only to the poorest. The decision of who else should get the benefit, has been left for the government.

The court said private laboratories can continue to charge the testing fee as fixed by the Indian Council of Medical Research, the country's nodal body for coronavirus testing.

The Central government has allowed private laboratories of the country to charge patients up to Rs 4,500 per test.

Last week, the court said that free tests for COVID-19 should be available to all. However, it changed its decision after private laboratories expressed their incapability of being able to afford so many free testings.

Considering their plea, the judges hearing the case said today, "We are seeing that the government is doing its best. We are modifying our order. We are saying that government can decide which categories get free testing."

In its modified order, the SC said free testing for COVID-19 will be available to "persons eligible under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana as already implemented by the Government of India, and any other category of economically weaker sections of the society as notified by the Government".

The Centre and the health ministry can decide whether "any other categories of the weaker sections", like workers belonging to low income groups in the informal sectors or beneficiaries of Direct Benefit Transfer and others should be eligible.

The government should make this decision within a week and inform the court, the judges added.

Last week, the court had ordered free testing for COVID-19, calling it a humanitarian issue.

However, most of the private laboratories objected to this order, saying even under the government-mandated charge of Rs 4,500, they are barely able to recover the costs, which include specific infrastructure, reagents, consumables and manpower.

Calling the order "humanitarian,", Biocon Ltd Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said it would be "impractical" to implement.

(Source: NDTV)

/teb