The Mayor of Napoli-Sikeia Achieves the Price of PCR Tests at 27 Euros

The mayor of the Neapoli-Sikeia region (municipality of Thessaloniki) was able to get the laboratories to reduce the price of PCR tests to 27 euros. To do this, you simply need to be not indifferent to the problems of residents.

A few days ago we published a material where talked about the scandalwhich followed after a statement Minister of Development Adonis Georgiadis. The blue-eyed official said that PCR tests in Greece are 2 times more expensive than in Cyprus, because, they say, they use low-quality Chinese tests.

Cyprus reacted instantly, forcing the talkative Greek minister to withdraw his initial statement. After that, Adonis Georgiadis, “frostbitten”, said at all that he had never made such a statement, although everyone listened to his speech on Wednesday on the state TV channel ERT Radio, and then it was repeatedly commented on in social networks.

It is noteworthy that in Cyprus they did not openly troll their Greek colleagues, but reported that they use no less high-quality tests than on the mainland, and the lower price was due to constant competition in open tenders.

The Greek minister tried to justify himself, referring to the peculiarities of pricing in Greece, but, as it turned out, the price of 27 euros is quite achievable in Greece, you just need to have the desire and some people to moderate their appetites …

Newspaper Ethnos published an interview with the Mayor of Naples-Sikeia and the chairman of the Social Policy Committee of the Central Union of Greek Municipalities Simos Daniilidis, who said that at legal auctions held by the municipality, it was possible to obtain from the microbiological laboratory the cost of PCR tests for its employees, beneficiaries and patients in social structures in 27 and 29 euros.

The difference compared to the government-set ceiling of 47 euros (60 euros before January 4) for the price of PCR tests is huge, which suggests that some people’s representatives are still not indifferent to the financial condition of their electorate.

The Mayor of Neapolis-Sikeia stressed to ethnos.gr that previously the microbiology laboratories participating in the auction had offered PCR tests at prices 2-3 euros more than the 27 and 29 euros offered by the auction winners.

Mr. Daniilidis also mentions that 1-1.5 years ago PCR tests cost 120-140 euros. The municipality of Neapolis-Sikeon managed to bring down their price to 40 euros after the auction. However, he expresses confidence that at the next auction, which is likely to take place in the spring, prices for tests will be below 27-29 euros.

“Even the most expensive microbiology laboratories that participated in our last auction last June were offering PCR tests at prices well below the government’s ceiling of 47 euros (effective January 4, 2022). Imagine the difference in price when PCR tests were run for 120, 130 or even 140 euros. At that time, in October 2020, in our auction we reached a price of 40 euros for a molecular test. I believe that if all municipalities followed our scheme, the prices for PCR tests would be even lower.

Importers bring PCR for 10 euros. To these microbiology laboratories, they add costs for their staff as well as for the transportation of tests, especially for small microbiology centers that do not have their own molecular testing equipment. But then again, the total price is nowhere near 47 euros. Convincing proof is the prices that our municipality achieves at auctions.

Each of us can understand that the interests of large companies involved in molecular tests are billions of euros. “The most ideal approach in this critical phase of the spread of the pandemic would be to introduce a free molecular test, as is the case in many countries in Central and Northern Europe,” says Daniilidis.

For his part, the vice-president of the Athens Medical Association and president of the clinical laboratory, Fotis Patsurakos, is outraged by the situation, stating that these laboratories with such prices should operate at a loss or reduce the quality with such low prices. At the same time, he notes that if these are laboratories recognized by the Medical Association of Thessaloniki and certified, meeting all quality criteria, the Mayor of Naples-Sikeia must indicate them so that doctors can choose them.

“When carrying out such an examination, it is necessary to fully take into account the quality criteria. That is, which laboratories do molecular analyzes, who signs the result, and is there a biopathologist. If the municipality of Neapolis-Sikeon has achieved such low prices in a laboratory certified and recognized by the Medical Association of Thessaloniki, please let us know who it is so that we can cooperate with them. We conclude an agreement with molecular centers, the cheapest of which are now asking 25-29 euros for a molecular test. To this price, we must add other costs so that the price is at least 36-38 euros before taxes. To this price should be added our profit. The cost cannot be lower, otherwise we will lay it out of our pockets. When a laboratory works with a municipality, it can offer tests at cost, expecting to profit from other services, ”says Patsurakos.

PS The question raised by Simos Daniilidis is likely to go unnoticed by the Greek society, despite the publication in such a serious publication as Ethnos, and in further reposts. Nevertheless, this is a wake-up call to the authorities, who must understand that the country’s population is not a stupid herd. It understands that expensive tests and masks, insane fines, restrictions for the unvaccinated and other absurdities and elements of obvious corruption, in the context of a growing economic crisis, can lead to serious consequences. And then some people can not only lose their “warm and money” places, but also sit down for long prison terms.

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