The parliament's Public Accounts Committee today revealed that the amount of unpaid bills of people who received medical treatment with the assistance of the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) during the first eight months of this government stood at MVR 1.5 billion.
According to the report on the NSPA and the Aasandha health insurance being examined by the committee, this is an increase between November 17, 2023 and July 22, 2024. This includes payments to hospitals and clinics in the Maldives and other countries.
The report includes details of the amounts owed by NSPA to individual entities.
- State agencies - MVR 367 million
- Foreign hospitals - MVR 349 million
- Clinics - MVR 330 million
- Pharmacies - MVR 325 million
- Local hospitals - MVR 164 million
According to the data collected by the parliament, NSPA had pending bills worth MVR 491 million when the government took over in November 2023. Since then, MVR 872 million has been paid but the number of outstanding bills has increased by MVR 663 million. The report does not say the total outstanding amount.
When questioned about the pending payments, the Finance Ministry said more than MVR 1 billion was budgeted this years for NSPA and Aasandha bills.
The committee report noted that there are serious problems in the health system, including the lack of standards for a holistic system.
The lack of standards has led to higher costs of consultations and unnecessary tests. The report said this is a direct cause of the increase in the cost of the state health welfare system.
The report also highlighted the issues of medicine price, stock management and fairness in medicine registration. Similarly, the report said there are no proper rules and fairness in providing financial assistance from NSPA.
The committee began investigating the matter following a complaint filed by ADK alleging that the government's MVR 251 million debt was affecting the company's business.
