TO ENCOURAGE the general public to get tested as a way to control the spread of the contagious COVID-19 – and more so because infections are lately rising – the Department of Health (DOH) should explore the possibility of making coronavirus testing more affordable and accessible, or even free.
The prohibitive costs of antigen tests, priced as much as P960, and the gold standard reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or the RT-PCR, which rate ranges from P2,800 for public laboratories and P3,360 for private laboratories, are preventing people from getting tested. The prices are set by the DOH, by the way.
Repeat: the price of antigen or RT-PCR test is too expensive for ordinary Filipinos if they have to pay for it themselves, so our government better find ways to make COVID tests free.
We are two years into the pandemic and entering the third. Perhaps, after billions of borrowings to fight this health crisis, it is now high time for the government to seriously consider providing this basic yet crucial tool to win the battle against the virus.
According to the Department of Finance (DOF), the country’s borrowings to finance the government’s anti-COVID campaign have already reached $22.58 billion or P1.15 trillion, as of December last year. But the DOF said in a statement that the total financial cost plus interest would bring this to $28.91 billion or P1.47 trillion, and by the time these loans mature between 2024 and 2060, the Philippine would have coughed up $6.32 billion or P320.85 billion in interest payments alone.
DOH should allocate a bigger budget for the procurement of COVID testing kits and more importantly, subsidize the laboratory costs.
Not every local government unit, especially the small and poor ones, can afford to shoulder antigen or PCR tests. They need the support of the national government.
