New Delhi: After it came to notice that pathology labs and private hospitals were taking irrationally high charges for Swine Flu tests of patients showing symptoms of the fast-spreading disease in the national capital, Delhi government on Wednesday held a meeting with private laboratories to fix a rate cap for the tests.
Delhi government, in the meeting, set the rate for the tests at maximum Rs 4500, which the labs were earlier charging upto Rs 10,000.
State Health Minister SK Jain confirmed that the Delhi government has issued order to all testing labs in Delhi freezing test charges of swine flu at Rs 4500 maximum, while also adding that medicine stock has been doubled to address swine flu situation and roped in 25 hospitals including private ones.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda has also written to the government of Delhi raising questions over the high rates being charged for swine flu tests by the private laboratories.
Dismissing reports of shortage of drugs for the virus, the Health Minister said, "There were some reports about the lack of medicines and we checked, no dearth of medicines found."
Nadda on Tuesday had reviewed the drug shortage for swine flu patients even as the number of deaths due to the disease rose upto 624 across the country. Nadda held a high-level meeting in which a committee was formed to visit hospitals and look into the drug shortage.
