As of Tuesday, the prices of PCR and antigen tests billed by laboratories to Health Insurance will drop by 15 to 30%.
The rates for PCR and antigen tests, paid by Health Insurance directly to medical biology laboratories and liberal health professionals, decrease from 15% to 30% as of Tuesday, according to two decrees published in the Official Journal. The Covid-19 screening tests remain 100% covered by the Social Security, with no advance on costs for the patients, but the price paid to caregivers has once again been cut to the plane.
After the introduction of a sliding scale tariff for PCRs in December, the amounts are further revised downwards, up to 30% for a result delivered in less than 12 hours, which drops to 33.75 euros (which always adds the “pre-analytical package” of 5.40 euros), according to a first decree published on Sunday. “Negotiations have allowed a reduction less drastic than wanted by the supervisory authorities, but it remains nonetheless significant”, reacted the Union of biologists on its website.
“We continue to adjust the rates”, indicated last week the director of Health Insurance, Thomas Fatôme, during a press conference, recalling that France “continues to test a lot”, with “rapid results” and “free access”.
The prices of antigen tests carried out by nurses, midwives and physiotherapists are also reduced from 19% to 28% depending on the place of sampling (office, home, collective screening), according to a second decree published on Tuesday. The same goes for dentists (-26%) and, to a lesser extent, for doctors (-15%). In both cases (PCR and antigens), the official texts justify these measures by “the new diagnostic techniques available”.
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