Male’, Maldives – The government has decided that individuals that have signed up for other private insurance schemes will not receive Aasandha benefits.
This decision is an attempt to lower Aasandha expenditures in 2021, which have reached more than MVR 900 Million as of 29th October 2020. The 2021 budget details that to cut down expenses, citizens who have other insurance schemes will have their Aasandha insurance revoked.
Another attempt to lower Aasandha expenses is to establish telemedicine infrastructure to allow patients to consult oversees doctors, where applicable. Which should contribute to expense control as Aasandha expenses abroad are high.
As of 29th October, expenditures of MVR 906.9 million have been made towards Aasandha, which is a decrease from last year’s 913.2 Million spent in the same period. The decrease inexpenditure can be attributed to fewer overseas medical trips as international travel has only just started to resume after months of restrictions, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
A policy to reduce duplicate prescription of medicines after consulting with different doctors during the same period, the government has decided to take measures so that same medicines cannot be prescribed within a certain time period, and a mobile application is to be unveiled that will allow citizens to monitor their Aashandha spending.
In addition, the budget includes funds to establish a General Practitioner system that aims to save the time of specialist doctors who may otherwise spend time treating common diseases.
