The Maldives spends far above global prices to import medicine and reimburse prescriptions covered by the Aasandha scheme, the Health Ministry has said.
According to the "National Medicine Policy 2024-2030" published by the Health Ministry last Sunday, prices paid to import medicine to the country and to reimburse prescriptions through Aasandha were three to five times higher than world market prices.
Such a large price difference was caused by widespread inefficient procurement instead of a lack of economies of scale, the Health Ministry said in the introduction of the policy report.
"Many important decisions to select the product, formulate the specifications and agree to the procurement price are often taken by the same institution or even by the same individuals. However, all costs are fully reimbursed by Aasandha who is no party to the decisions and has no power to select the most cost-effective products," the Health Ministry report observed about medicine procurement in the past.
Inefficiencies and corruption in medicine procurement were exacerbated by a lack of transparency, according to the report. Despite the situation, Aasandha has not used its power to restrict reimbursement, it added.
New policies
The "National Medicine Policy" specified actions to address shortcomings in the reimbursement of prescriptions by Aasandha. One such task was to compile a new list of essential medicines and to set maximum prices to be paid by Aasandha for medicines on the list.
The maximum price of reimbursement for medicines will be jointly determined by the Health Ministry, Finance Ministry and Aasandha, according to the policy.
A mechanism will be introduced for co-payment for medicines considered as non-essential or not listed for reimbursement by Aasandha. The patient would have to pay the difference between the price charged by the pharmacy and the maximum reimbursement price set by Aasandha.
The National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) will provide assistance to people suffering from serious illnesses who face difficulties with medical expenses.
