"The results of our calculations of the cost of RT-PCR testing include audit results, electronic catalogs, and market prices," deputy head of politics, law, security, human development, and culture at BPKP, Iwan Taufiq Purwanto, said at a press conference here on Wednesday.
According to the results, there is a potential for making PCR test components cheaper, he added.
He said the government, through the Ministry of Health and BPKP, has set the maximum price of RT-PCR test at Rp275 thousand for the islands of Java and Bali and Rp300 thousand for areas outside Java and Bali.
BPKP's decision has followed the directions of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, and the Letter of the Director General of Health Services (No. SR.04.03/III/3820/2021) regarding the request for an evaluation of COVID-19 laboratory examination rates.
"On that basis, we are re-evaluating the current price of PCR test," he said.
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Compared to the previous BPKP calculations, there has been a decline in the prices of components affected by consumables such as personal protective equipment, PCR and RNA reagents as well as overhead costs, he explained.
"The cost evaluation has been submitted to the Ministry of Health as a further policy consideration," Purwanto informed.
The Health Ministry, through the director general of health services, had asked BPKP to conduct the evaluation of the prices of RT-PCR, he added.
President Joko Widodo has requested the price of PCR tests be lowered to Rp300 thousand and the validity of the tests be increased to 3x24 hours following the release of the government's new regulation on traveling during the PPKM (public activity restrictions) period.
According to the Health Ministry's director general of health services, Prof. Abdul Kadir, the ministry will increase the availability of RT-PCR laboratory facilities in various regions to support the tracking of COVID-19 cases.
"The government has prepared one thousand units of PCR laboratories for regions," Kadir said. (
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Translator: Andi F, Kenzu T
Editor: Suharto
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