Aasandha effective from Oct after private insurance bill
She said private hospitals would not be able to provide services under Aasandha except at the agreed price once packages are agreed on.
By
Aishath Maha
National Social Protection Agency (NSPA), which runs the national health insurance scheme Aasandha, has said that from October 1, those with private insurance will be able to avail the Aasandha service after deducting insurance from the bill.
NSPA CEO Heena Waleed told the Social Affairs Committee of the Parliament on Monday that the policy of Aasandha has been changed, and this is one of the most important.
Heena said the change is to reduce the cost of double insurance. Once the rule is changed, Aasandha will cover the amount remaining after being covered by private insurance.
“If someone has any other insurance, we are amending the bill in such a way that it is cleared from NSPA after getting it cleared by additional insurances while paying the bill," Heena said.
Heena added:
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Drafts have been prepared to make further changes to the welfare and Aasandha policy
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The papers will be submitted to the Cabinet very soon
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After the reform of Aasandha, the individual insurance schemes offered by government institutions will be conducted through NSPA
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A social register is being set up
Packages being made with hospitals to reduce prices
Aasandha said at Monday's committee meeting that private hospitals are one of the biggest expenditure areas and special packages are being developed for them.
Aasandha Managing Director Aminath Zeeniya said the Finance Ministry has also expressed concern over the high cost of private hospitals.
“The procedure cost given to us is not costly. But their line items are coming up with the final bill and the final bill is a large amount. We are now trying to create package prices,” said Zeeniya.
She said private hospitals would not be able to provide services under Aasandha except at the agreed price once it's been done.
"We will need a lot of cooperation at the policy level. At this point, when we say that we will not allow services if the package is not agreed to, we know that IGMH or Dharumavantha has to improve the services," she said.
"There are a lot of loopholes we need to fix”.
In response, Heena said major services like neurosurgery are currently available only in private hospitals and the problem cannot be solved unless government hospitals are equipped to provide such services.
Aasandha's expenditure in the second quarter of this year increased compared to the same period last year.
According to the company's figures released this month:
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Aasandha spent MVR 823 million in the second quarter of this year
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MVR 738 million was spent during the same period last year
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This is an increase of 11.5%
For the first three months of this year:
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MVR 838 million was spent by Aasandha
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MVR 276,439 people received treatment
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MVR 1,599 people were evacuated in an emergency
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MVR 1,691 people were sent abroad
