In 2021, the Institute for Virology, Vaccines and Sera “Torlak” earned 2.5 million euros from the service of testing for the presence of coronavirus at the personal request of citizens, according to the report on the execution of the budget of this institution.
This is a test that is provided at the expense of the obligatory health insurance.
In mid-January this year, the government reduced the prices of personal testing from 30 euros to 15 euros for antigen tests and from 75 euros to 50 euros for PCR testing.
During 2021, 43.2 million euros were poured into the Institute’s account, while the revenues from the year before were 23.7 million euros.
Expenditures of the Institute amounted to 37.2 million euros last year, while in 2020 they were close to 21.1 million euros.
“Torlak” significantly increased the costs of procurement of medical and laboratory materials, which increased from 16.1 million euros in 2020 to 37.2 million euros in 2021.
The increase in expenditures for the purchase of materials is most likely a consequence of investments in the production of Russian vaccines.
When it comes to revenues from testing at the personal request of citizens, the report for 2020 does not highlight them, but it is written that the revenue of the Institute for PCR testing services for the presence of coronavirus on samples submitted by health institutions was about 1.9 million euros.
The largest number of procurements of medical supplies and equipment since the beginning of the pandemic is still secret, and the analysis of the New Economy shows that the turnover of PCR tests in 2020 was at least 28.6 million euros, and that the most common tests are Sansura, BGI and Abbott.
Like the Torlak Institute, expenditures for the purchase of medical supplies have increased for the Republic Health Insurance Fund (RHIF). In 2020 alone, RHIF costs increased by 38 percent compared to 2019, according to publicly available financial reports.
The state fund has increased its spending by the highest percentage when it comes to the procurement of materials and equipment, for which over half a billion euros were allocated in 2020, Danas reports.
