Maldives to Impose 15% Co-Payment on High Earners Using Private Health Services

The Ministry of Health has announced a new policy requiring individuals earning more than MVR 60,000 per month to pay a co-payment when using private health facilities. The measure, gazetted today, will take effect from January 1 next year. The co-payment is set at 15 percent of the service cost. The policy applies only to private healthcare providers, excluding government health centers and hospitals. The Ministry confirmed that existing procedures for sending patients abroad under Aasandha will remain unchanged. Certain technical employees in critical sectors, including doctors, medical technical staff, pilots, aviation technical staff, engineers, and scientific technical staff, are exempt from the co-payment system. The Ministry stated that the change is intended to strengthen the state health insurance system and ensure the financial sustainability of Aasandha services.