Gov to introduce income cap of MVR 60K for full Aasandha coverage

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has announced the decision to stop providing full coverage under the public health insurance Aasandha scheme for people who earn a monthly income of MVR 60,000 and higher.

At a press briefing on Monday afternoon, President Muizzu said that experts, both local and international, do not believe the current Aasandha system to be the best.

He said that his administration was working on amending the policy on provision of Aasandha for the wealthy and people eligible to pay income tax starting next month.

He said that individuals who earn a monthly income of MVR 60,000 or higher will not receive full coverage, and will instead need to opt for co-pay or pre-pay and pay an annual fee to the government.

President Muizzu said that he does not believe the wealthy should enjoy free services, the same as regular citizens.

He estimates the proposed change will save MVR 287 million in annual budget expenses.

“This money will be utilized to finance other needs of the people. It will same a portion of expenses from this year’s budget as well. And save another MVR 280 million next year,” he said, adding that details of the policy change will be publicized in coming days.

Aasandha is an area where the actual spending has persistently surpassed budgeted figures with each passing year.

Statics released by the Finance Ministry shows the government spent MVR 1.43 billion on Aasandha as of August 20, which is 70.8 percent of the MVR 2.02 billion annual budget allocation.