Spending on Aasandha rises by 24%

Spending on the public health insurance scheme, Aasandha, has gone up by 24 percent compared to the previous year, according to the latest weekly fiscal development report released by the Financial Ministry.

The report shows that as of May 15, the government has spent MVR 829.4 million on Aasandha, up from MVR 665.7 million during the same period last year, resulting in an increase of MVR 163.5 million or 24 percent.

While the government has been rolling out reforms this year to cut down spending on the public health insurance scheme, statistic show that the cost of Asandha has been rising from month to month.

Spending on Aasandha has consistently exceeded beyond the budgeted figure, making it a huge burden on the state budget.

Last year, the actual spending on Aasandha was nearly double the MVR 1.9 billion allocated in the state budget.

Despite the high spending on Aasandha, many members of the general public have taken to social media in recent months to express frustration over lack of availability of essential medicine, including those required by newborn babies and thalassemia patients.

In a press conference on May 3, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu blamed this shortage on several importers creating a chokehold on the import of certain types of medicine following the government’s decision to cap the price of medicine to reform Aasandha.

He said the cap was introduced to stop importers from overcharging for medicine, with several companies supplying key medicines at a markup of around 1,000 percent through the Aasandha system.

Stopping the ‘medical mafia’, making medicine more affordable, and reforming Aasandha are key pledges he has made to improve the Maldivian healthcare system.

While the cost of Aasandha has risen, spending on subsidies has declined by 23.7 percent – from MVR 1.67 billion during the same period last year to MVR 1.28 billion this year.

The overall expenditure has fallen by 20.3 percent – coming down from MVR 16.22 billion during the same period last year to MVR 12.92 billion this year.

According to the Finance Ministry, this has resulted in an overall budget surplus of MVR 1.5 billion – up from a budget deficit of MVR 2.5 billion during the same period last year.