The expenditure on national health insurance scheme, Aasandha, and subsidies have decreased with strong measures implemented by the government to cut down costs in these areas.
According to the Weekly Fiscal Development Report issued by the Finance Ministry, Aasandha and subsidy expenditure by December 5 had decreased compared to the same period last year.
The budget for this year allocated MVR 1.9 million for Aasandha. While MVR 1.88 billion has been utilized for Aasandha thus far this year, this is a five percent decrease (MVR 101.5 million) compared to the same period last year, when expenditure reached 1.98 billion.
While MVR 3.44 billion was spent on subsidies until December, this is also a 6.3 percent decrease (MVR 233.3 million) compared to the MVR 3.67 billion spent during the same period last year. Despite the decrease in subsidy costs, this value still surpasses the MVR 2.8 billion budget allocated for subsidies for this year.
Recent changes to the Aasandha and the subsidy policies include changes to the prices of the 250 most commonly sold drugs, which the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) states would save MVR 220 billion annually.
