Aasandha involves a deficit of Rf 200 million

Chairman of National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) Thorig Ali Luthfee has said today that the budget assigned by the government to universal health insurance scheme Aasandha involves a deficit of about Rf 200 million.

Speaking at the parliament financial committee, Thorig said today that a budget of Rf 520 million had been received for Aasandha; however, the expenditure is likely to reach Rf 900 million. When Aasandha was first created, it was supposed to provide healthcare for over 300,000 citizens at the rate of Rf 2750 per person. Today, about Rf 3 million is spent daily under the scheme.

“The deficit amounts to about Rf 200 million. The Health Insurance Act states that Finance Ministry should contribute in the event of a downfall. The question now is, does the state have this much money – this is indeed a question! If expenditure keeps rising like this, we have two options. One, if this amount is enough, we should continue the way it is now. Second option is, if the amount is not enough, we have to take the necessary measures to control this scheme. Usually a scheme like this would have control measures, so we should do the same. We have to address these issues at some point,” Thorig said.

He expressed concern over the fact that 155,000 people had obtained the services of Aasandha, at a time when there is no serious outbreak of any disease in the country. He said that this number has not gone down, and that the scheme cannot be sustained if changes are not made to how people obtain this service.

“Moreover, 66% of expenditure goes to outpatient healthcare. The purpose of a scheme like this should be to lighten the economic burden of healthcare for families. Of the 65% mentioned before, 75% goes to private clinics, not government hospitals. If these trends continue, expenditure will reach Rf 1 billion by December,” Thorig said.

When the committee floor was opened for questions, most members asked why Aasandha is not open to private clinics on the same conditions, and requested that this be speeded up. Thorig said in reply that certain rules have to be followed in achieving this, and that Aasandha even conflicts with some rights guaranteed in the constitution.

Concluding the meeting, Committee Chairperson and Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim urged to speed up the process of including private clinics in Aasandha. He also advised that the revisions to the constitution required to improve Aasandha be submitted to the Parliament as soon as possible. He said that IMF had also expressed concern over Aasandha.