Pharmacy Bills Account for Largest Share of Aasandha Spending

Pharmacy bills continue to account for the largest share of spending under the national health insurance scheme, according to Aasandha Company Limited Managing Director Aminath Zeeniya.

Speaking on Public Service Media’s Raajje Miadhu programme, Zeeniya said more than 60 per cent of Aasandha’s expenditure last year was spent on medicines supplied through pharmacies. She said the remaining expenditure was directed towards services provided by private clinics, hospitals in the Maldives and medical facilities abroad.

advertisement

Zeeniya said Aasandha’s payment system is structured so that payments are made only to private sector healthcare providers, with no direct disbursements to government health institutions.

She also said Aasandha has agreements with 57 hospitals in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates to facilitate overseas treatment. Most of the partner hospitals are in India. According to Zeeniya, hospitals are selected after assessing the quality of care, available specialist services and treatment costs, with agreements based on package rates.

The Government allocated USD 131 million for Aasandha schemes in this year’s budget.

As of 16 July, expenditure under the scheme had reached USD 76.52 million, representing a 10.2 per cent increase from USD 69.39 million during the same period last year.

Spending on medical welfare, however, declined. As of 16 July, expenditure stood at USD 8.29 million, down 30.9 per cent from USD 12.02 million in the corresponding period last year. The Government has allocated USD 26.52 million for medical welfare services in this year’s budget.