Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairperson Tulus Abadi on Tuesday gave his response to President Joko Widodo's public request to lower the cost of PCR testing services.

He said the President's positive sentiment is appreciated as it mirrors the public's complaint on the high tariff of PCR tests.

However, Abadi urged the government to be transparent about the actual cost of a PCR test provided by the health industry.

"The government has not been transparent regarding the PCR test tariff. What is the actual cost structure of the PCR and what is the percentage of the profit margin obtained by providers? This remains to be a big question mark," he said to Tempo on Tuesday, October 26.

Following the President's direct order to lower the tariff of PCR tests, Abadi said the government must monitor the obedience levels shown by the industry towards this order. He believes there are plenty of PCR test providers offering tariffs beyond what the government had set as the upper ceiling.

The YLKI chair said many service variations are set at higher tariffs than what the government suggests, such as PCR tests with quicker results that can be priced twice more expensive compared to what the government set.

President Jokowi previously called for PCR service providers to reduce tariffs to a maximum of Rp300 thousand and wants the test results to be valid for three days. However, the Health Ministry said the President's request is still being discussed.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1521737/ylki-calls-for-pcr-test-cost-transparenc