The government has decided to transfer the medical welfare or medical financial assistance services previously provided by the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) under the management of the Aasandha Company, effective from Monday.
An announcement released by the Ministry of Health today stated that a decision has been made to transfer the services provided under NSPA's medical welfare scheme to Aasandha starting tomorrow. The announcement noted that this includes 16 services previously provided by NSPA.
Services transferred under Aasandha:
- Procuring and providing medication for people suffering from Gaucher's disease.
- Providing medication required for cancer treatment.
- Assisting individuals seeking medication required for ongoing treatment that is unavailable in the Maldives or not included in the approved drug list.
- Providing financial assistance to procure medication not available in the Maldives as well as commonly required medication.
- Arranging additional tickets for individuals who require travel abroad for medical treatment after Aasandha is approved.
- Providing assistance for medical issues faced by students studying abroad.
- Providing assistance for tests and investigations not covered by public hospitals and Aasandha.
- Providing assistance for various equipment and machines (assistive devices) as well as medical consumables required to carry forward treatments.
- Assisting individuals (within the established guidelines) who need to return to the Maldives or return to their home island after completing treatment, upon advice from a relevant specialist doctor that no further treatment can be given.
- Providing follow-up care after bone marrow transplants for children with thalassemia.
- Providing assistance in relation to difficulties faced after traveling abroad for treatment at one's own expense.
- Making referrals to seek medical treatment from abroad.
- Changing the hospital designated for medical treatment abroad and obtaining consent.
- Extending the coverage of the Merana Scheme if an emergency situation arises for Maldivians registered under the scheme.
- Handling instances of rejection when a doctor filling out a form from an island is not a specialist in that field, and notifying the patient to seek a second opinion would cause additional hardships, and even though the reason submitted for referral is for a treatment unavailable from the island, it is available from Malé.
- Increasing limits or providing additional assistance after committee reconsideration when individuals sent abroad with a designated limit under the welfare scheme submit for reconsideration.
Health Ministry's statement noted that with this change, all medical assistance provided by the state will henceforth be accessible through the Aasandha portal.
