A medical worker collects a swab sample from a boy for COVID-19 testing in Liwan district of Guangzhou, June 12, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
Rounds of mass COVID-19 testing have been conducted in Guangzhou for free over the past few weeks. But some people, who require time-specific test results for travel or other purposes, may have to take additional virus tests at their own expense and find testing fees vary among medical institutions. Why does this happen?
Here are the answers from Guangzhou Healthcare Security Administration to some frequently asked questions regarding nucleic acid tests (NAT) in the city.
Q1: How much does a NAT cost at medical institutions?
A: Guangzhou has required public medical institutions to lower the price of a single-sample NAT from 60 yuan to 50 yuan per person starting March 1, reagent fees not included. A pooled-sample NAT is priced at 20 yuan per person. Both prices are the lowest in the country. The tests charge the same fees at the city's disease prevention and control institutions.
Q2: Why are the NAT fees different among medical institutions?
A: There are about 10 different kinds of reagents currently being used in virus tests across Guangdong province, and their prices range from 5.38 yuan to 19.20 yuan. The use of different reagents causes the total price of a single-sample NAT to vary among medical institutions. While the price of a pooled-sample NAT is fixed.
Q3: What are the differences between a single-sample NAT and a pooled-sample NAT?
A: A single-sample NAT means each swab sample is collected and tested in separate tubes. While a pooled-sample NAT usually puts five or ten swab samples in one test tube to go through screening as a group. No reagent fee is charged if the test is conducted in a pooling method.
Q4: Is it good to conduct a pooled-sample NAT?
A: Compared to testing swab samples one by one, the pooling method helps detect a large amount of samples in a short time and at reduced costs, which greatly enhances the COVID-19 testing ability of medical institutions. It also increases the availability of test tubes, thus is often applied to mass or group screening.
Q5: What other services do I need to pay for if I only take NATs at medical institutions?
A: None. Starting January 29, people in Guangdong province areexempted from registrations fees at medical institutions if they only seek a virus test, according to the provincial health commission.
Q6: How can I make a reservation for COVID-19 testing?
A: Those who need to take the virus test at the city's medical institutions can make a reservation online via the WeChat mini-program“穗康”. The testing fee can be paid through social medical insurance funds.
Author & editor: Pauline Tai