Amid shortages of COVID testing, price hike picks up | health news

By Cara Murez and Robin Foster, HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Jan. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) — As the Omicron variant blankets America and the demand for COVID-19 testing rises, so does the price hike.

High prices are seen across the country for over-the-counter antigen tests, CBS News reported.

“The danger in healthcare is that for any life-saving product — it’s vulnerable to price increments because most people would pay [an] arm and leg – anything – to save the life of a loved one,” epidemiologist and health economist Eric Feigl-Ding wrote in a series of tweets.

In New York, Attorney General Letitia James has received complaints about products being sold at double or triple the retail price.

A standard BinaxNOW branded test kit at a New York store such as Walgreens costs between $14 and $25 for a pack of two tests, but there are reports of the same products being illegally sold for over $40 and up to $70 per package,” James said in a… rack last month.

The internet marketplace for COVID tests isn’t much better: Online retailer Tanga sells the BinaxNow tests for $59.99 for a box of two or $349 for 10 boxes. These kits usually retail for $23.99 at Walgreens or even less at Walmart where they retail for $19.88 but are out of stock, CBS News reported.

Attorney General’s offices across the country have reported receiving complaints or hearing stories of price gouging.

In Georgia, Attorney General Chris Carr last week called on residents to “watch out for fraudulent COVID-19-related practices, particularly when it comes to testing.” Carr said in a rack that he had heard reports of excessive costs for COVID testing.

Meanwhile, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein early residents to report pandemic-related price squeezes.

North Carolina has a price gouging law and Stein has previously sued companies for pandemic-related price gouging. That includes a New Jersey company that is now banned from selling PPE at outrageous prices, and a Charlotte company that Stein has been banned from allegedly starting up or towing trucks that deliver food, water and medical supplies during the pandemic. , CBS News reported.

“In particular, our office has anecdotally heard that there may be price increases in at-home testing,” Stein said Wednesday.

While the Biden administration plans to send 500 million home tests for free to Americans, it hasn’t happened yet. And a previous deal with retailers Walmart and Kroger to lower the cost of the tests has expired.

The USCenters for Disease Control and Prevention has more on: COVID-19 tests.

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