Govt. backtracks on decision on limiting Aasandha health insurance scheme

The Government of Maldives on Monday announced a reversal of the decision to exclude private health service providers from the health insurance scheme, Aasandha. The decision came just 24 hours after initial decision.

The decision to exclude private health service providers came at around 2322hrs on Saturday.

“Aasandha, the Sate Health Insurance Scheme, provides quality health services to all Maldivian citizens. The manner in which the system had been functioning of late has been identified as untenable and, within the context of providing health insurance with more value for money, it has come to the notice of the Government’s monitoring agencies that the amounts being spent on the service is not being deployed efficiently. The same agencies have also made recommendations based on global best practices,” the statement said.

The statement noted that discussions were held regarding the issue with National Social Protection Agency (NSPA). NSPA Board on 3rd May, reached a decision to no longer cover inpatient, outpatient, laboratory investigations and scanning services from private health institutions.

It also said that the decision “was not made on any recommendation of the Government to be initiated at, or before, a specific date”.

“The Government has now instructed NSPA to restore agreements with private health institutions. The Government has also asked NSPA to discuss ways in which to resolve the expense issues in a manner that provides better value for the state.”

The decision to exclude private health service providers came late on Saturday, just hours after exit polls revealed a loss for the Government in the Local Council Elections.