"Regulate & Cap The Rates Of CT Scan, Other Tests In Uttar Pradesh": Plea Moved Before Allahabad High Court

The Application has been moved by one Kartikey Dubey, Advocate in Person praying for directions to State Government to pass appropriate orders to regulate and cap the prices of CT scan and blood test and other ancillary tests which are required and warranted for detection of Corona Virus in the body, in the State of U.P.

"The high demand for chest X-rays and HRCTs have exponentially shot up the prices and need for these tests. Therefore, a need has arisen to regulate and cap the price of CT scan test in the State of Uttar Pradesh also," states the plea.

[NOTE: The HRCT test creates a detailed image of the lung anatomy and the airflow through it which could be used to visually assess the lung anatomy and airflow patterns to detect and diagnose underlying health conditions including COVID-19.]

The plea avers that various researches have shown that in CT scan, the extent of damage caused by the Corona Virus to the lungs can be clearly seen and that CT scan is an essential test for most of the patients who have tested positive in RT PCR test.

The plea also submits,

"Although the State Government interfered and capped the price of RT PCR tests, but till date no Government Order or press note has been issued by the State Government regulating the prices of the CT Scan test."

Further, stating that in the entire state, the citizens are paying such inflated amounts to get the CT Scan conducted, the plea submits that on account of the absence of any order regulating the price of the CT Scan, the private laboratories are charging upto Rs. 6,000/- for a CT Scan.

The plea states that in several states like Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Maharashtra, the rate of High-Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) Scan has already been capped.

Further, the application also mentions that there are various ancillary blood test also which a patient has to undergo in case he/she has tested positive for coronavirus such as D Dimer and IL and that the private laboratories are charging exorbitantly for such tests to the tune of Rs. 4000/- -Rs. 5000/- in the present time notwithstanding the fact that the patient is already in financial distress.

Thus, the application prays that appropriate directions be issued that to the respondents to pass necessary orders to regulate the prices of CT scan tests and the necessary blood test which are necessary for diagnosis of coronavirus.

The petitioner has stated in his application that he had himself tested positive for Corona Virus and had undergone the RT-PCR, CT scan test and various other blood test and then he came to know about the exorbitant prices being charged by the private laboratories.

"Present application has been filed in the public interest; with the sole objective to stop the exploitation of the common man at the hands of the private laboratories," adds the application.

In related news, the Delhi High Court earlier this month issued to the Delhi government on a plea seeking direction to the Delhi Government to cap the price of High-Resolution Computerized Tomography (HRCT) Test, which is used for detecting the presence and the severity of COVID-19 infection in the lungs of patients.

A bench of Chief Justice D. N. Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notice and sought Delhi Government's stand on the plea by Shivleen Pasricha, filed through Advocate Amresh Anand.