Coronavirus: laboratories that charged for rapid results stop this practice

Europe 1 revealed Wednesday that several medical analysis laboratories were charging patients a hundred euros to obtain faster results.

In the aftermath of these revelations, the incriminated laboratories ensure that they stop these illegal practices, backtracking.

Since the end of July, the rule has been clear: anyone can get tested for free and without a prescription.

Some laboratories had therefore scented the right vein: to save time for money, that is to say to claim between 96 euros and 100 euros to deliver the results more quickly to the patient-payers.

Since the beginning of September and the opening of tests for everyone, the laboratories have been saturated and the delays can go up to 12 days in some regions for obtaining the results.

The "paying" laboratories, on the other hand, offered results within 24 to 48 hours.

>> READ ALSO -

Coronavirus: how will the government prioritize testing?

The Ministry of Health condemns these practices

Since the revelations of Europe 1, the Ministry of Health has condemned these practices.

"The prioritization for the performance of the tests can only be based on medical criteria and not financial criteria", indicated for its part the Health insurance in a press release Wednesday evening.

"The Health Insurance reserves the right to examine, in conjunction with the State services competent to exercise this type of control, all the practices of the laboratories concerned and to rule on any follow-up to be given", added the document.

Since these revelations, the accused laboratories have assured that they immediately renounce these illegal practices.

"We have a very particular request from people who want to travel and who are caught by the throat because their flight is in only a few hours, they cannot wait", justified in spite of everything, Thursday, Grégoire Oghina, medical biologist and co- director of a laboratory in Saint-Denis, at the microphone of BFM TV.