The federal government’s billions in expenditure for rapid corona tests should actually be severely curbed. Anyone who wants to be tested for free must prove their entitlement to do so. An attempt shows how lax the controls are.
Most citizens in Germany are currently having to pay for their quick test again. That was decided by the federal government a few weeks ago. The reason: the billions spent on the test centers should be reduced. Free or at least heavily discounted, there are only certain groups of people who can be checked for an infection with the virus, who, for example, visit their relatives in the nursing home, care for them or go to an indoor event. Apparently, this is not properly controlled.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach’s new test regulation “to reduce costs and use the tests more specifically for those who really need them” seems to be less effective than intended. The doubts were already great at the beginning of the implementation, but now a self-experiment shows that there is clearly a great need for improvement in order not to unnecessarily burden the taxpayer.
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In Berlin, “Welt” editors have visited 15 test centers in various districts of the capital over the past few days and applied for a free or discounted citizen test. It is true that one cannot speak of a representative study; however, the result shows an alarming trend.
A total of eleven out of 15 test centers in Berlin carried out a free or discounted rapid test without the corresponding proof being presented. The procedures in the individual test centers were very different.
In some cases, statements such as: “Because I look after my aunt at home” or simply “Unfortunately I have no proof” were given as reasons for being entitled to a free test. The answer: “I believe you,” says one of the test center employees or “Okay, our system isn’t working today, so all tests are free. Starting tomorrow, however, only with proof.”
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In some cases, instead of a free test, a quick test that actually also required proof was offered at a reduced price. This then cost only three euros instead of prices between nine and 15 euros.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is responsible for monitoring and punishing such offenses and the “plausibility” of the tests. This should report any abnormalities to the responsible regulatory authorities of the municipalities.
A spokesman for the RKI said at the request of “Welt”: “The exact procedure and content of the plausibility check by the RKI is currently still being checked.” In plain language, this means that four weeks after the introduction of the new test regulation, the control has not yet started possible cases of fraud has been started.
Certainly: Not all test centers are so relaxed when checking for the evidence. It seems clear, however, that the lax nature of the review will also be reflected in the bill at some point.
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