More than 60 per cent of expenditure under the Aasandha health insurance scheme last year was spent on medicines, Aasandha Managing Director Aminath Zeeniya has said.

Speaking on a State media programme, MD Zeeniya said pharmacy bills accounted for the largest share of Aasandha expenditure, followed by payments to private clinics and hospitals, as well as hospitals overseas that provide treatment under the Aasandha scheme. She added that Aasandha only makes payments to private healthcare providers and does not reimburse Government healthcare facilities.

Commenting on overseas treatment, MD Zeeniya said Aasandha has so far signed agreements with 57 hospitals in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. She noted that most partner hospitals are in India and said agreements are reached only after assessing the availability of advanced treatments, multispecialty services, quality of care and affordable package pricing. She also noted that expenditure under the Aasandha scheme has continued to increase year after year as demand for healthcare services grows.

The Government has allocated MVR 2.02 billion for the Aasandha scheme this year. As of 16 July, expenditure under the scheme had reached MVR 1.18 billion, representing a 10.2 per cent increase from the MVR 1.07 billion spent during the same period last year.

During the same period, Government expenditure on medical welfare declined by 30.9 per cent, falling from MVR 185.3 million to MVR 127.9 million. The State has allocated MVR 409 million for medical welfare services in this year's budget.