Gov decides to revert to dual health insurance system

The government has reversed its decision to drop the dual health insurance system – a move that was aimed at reforming the public health insurance service and reducing wastage – and begun granting Aasandha coverage to private insurance holders again.

In October 2024, the government decided to prioritize private health insurance for outpatient services, meaning individuals with private insurance would first have their bills deducted from their private policies before Aasandha coverage kicks in.

The public health insurance coverage kicked in only if their private policies do not cover a certain service or if the limit is reached.

Private hospitals had been deducting the bills of individuals with private insurance solely from their private policies in the five months since.

 A credible source confirms to Sun that Aasandha initiated discussions with private hospitals regarding reverting back to the dual insurance system earlier this month.

“We were informed regarding the change earlier this month. And we had been making preparations,” said a hospital official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Sun has been informed that private hospitals began billing for dual insurance on Wednesday. Like before, hospitals are now billing both private insurance providers and Aasandha – the fixed MVR 100 - for consultations.

When asked for a comment, Aminath Zeeniya, the managing director of Aasandha, said the company will issue a statement regarding the subject soon.

She declined to make any further comment.

Dropping the dual insurance system and reforming Aasandha was part of a larger reform agenda announced by the government last year to treat Maldives’ ailing economy. It had also been something the government pushed despite anger from the public.

The decision to revert to the double insurance system comes after the government dropped another reform plan – to drop the double pension system.

MVR 426.3 million has been spent on Aasandha as of March 6 – out of the MVR 1.8 billion budget for this year.