China Healthcare: Diagnostics and Clinical Labs: Better than feared: Anhui became the first to release new testing service price after

On October 16, the Anhui Healthcare Security Administration released a draft proposal to standardize and consolidate medical laboratory testing fees, making Anhui the first province to publish detailed pricing proposal following the release of the national guidelines. Our analysis of the proposed fee schedule suggests relatively modest pricing adjustments for mainstream CLIA tests. On a like-for-like methodological basis, testing fees for tumor markers, thyroid function, and sex hormones remain broadly unchanged, while certain infectious disease tests face moderate reductions. We believe the reform primarily aims to standardize testing fee structures and billing rules nationwide, rather than initiate another round of VBP. The near-term impact on IVD manufacturers should therefore be relatively limited, although pricing developments in other provinces warrant continued monitoring. For IVD players, the reform addresses the fees hospitals charge for lab testing services rather than reagen