A political debate has broken out in Greece over the cost of PCR corona testing. Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis recently announced that the price for PCR tests will in future be just under 50 euros. But it cannot be reduced any further, according to the politician of the conservative ruling party Nea Dimokratia (ND). The left opposition considers the procedure and the price to be unacceptable and is calling for free PCR test offers nationwide.
The left-wing populist SYRIZA party criticized the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis charging the population with the costs of the tests instead of providing financial support for the test centers. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) also called for free tests for everyone and the nationalization of private diagnostic centers. The socialist party KINAL advocated a lower price cap for rapid and molecular tests.
Since Thursday, 47 euros have been the permitted maximum price for PCR tests, so far the Greeks had to shell out around 60 euros in one of the diagnostic centers. This is unreasonable for a medium-sized Greek household, argues SYRIZA. According to internet sources, the average gross income in Greece is just under 3,000 euros, but due to a large income gap, the “typical average salary” is in truth around 1,100 euros.
In any case, the minimum income limit is still below 800 euros, criticized SYRIZA. In order to keep the pandemic and especially the Omikron variant in check, free offers for tests are therefore essential, according to the largest opposition party.
A normal antigen test currently costs between four to six euros in Greece, a rapid test around six to ten euros. Citizens can get these tests as well as protective masks (0.45 to 1.20 euros) in pharmacies. This offer is very good, argued Minister Adonis Georgiadis. There are currently no options for free tests – as is common in Austria – in Hellas.
The position of the Panhellenic Medical Association is also controversial. For her part, she warned against lowering the prices for PCR tests, as this would jeopardize their reliability. The Greek medical association indicated that the prices for PCR tests would be in line with the EU average. Finally, the cost of diagnostic laboratories and clinics would need to be covered in order to guarantee the proper conduct of laboratory tests as well as the quality of the results.