The Ministry of Finance has announced plans to modify the Aasandha service, requiring the wealthiest individuals to contribute partially to their medication and outpatient services costs.
The state budget for the coming year is estimated at 56.6 billion rufiyaa, with 1,852.9 million rufiyaa allocated for Aasandha expenses. This is 19.0% lower than the estimated Aasandha expenses for the current year.
According to the Economic and Fiscal State and Outlook Report for next year’s budget, Aasandha expenses account for 5.1% of the 2025 budget’s recurrent expenditure. The budget includes Aasandha expenses based on the expectation that the system will be reformed and costs will be reduced.
Some changes and planned modifications include:
1. Expansion of bulk procurement of medications.
2. Implementation of a central procurement system to reduce drug prices.
3. Review of current prices set by Aasandha for certain medications.
4. Targeting the wealthiest individuals to contribute partially to their medication and outpatient services costs.
5. Introducing a pre-payment system for income tax payers to contribute to financing the system.
6. Establishing package prices for services provided at private hospitals and facilities under the Aasandha scheme.
These changes are expected to be implemented during 2025, and it’s anticipated that they will help reduce the rate of increase in Aasandha expenses in the medium term.
