MP Shahid calls to replace Aasandha with Allied Insurance for all citizens

People's Majlis member for Hulhudhoo constituency and Deputy Leader of the PNC Parliamentary Group, Mohamed Shahid, has called for the government’s universal health insurance scheme, Aasandha, to be replaced by Allied Insurance for all citizens. Speaking during a parliamentary session on Tuesday, Shahid addressed a petition signed by over 7,000 people demanding the removal of the expensive health insurance provided to MPs. He argued that the perception of MPs’ health insurance being superior was misleading and that Aasandha was a huge financial burden on the state. “If all citizens were included in a scheme like the one MPs have, the state would spend less,” Shahid said. He claimed that Aasandha is draining state finances, noting that of the 64.2 billion rufiyaa budget passed for this year, 2.02 billion rufiyaa was allocated to Aasandha, with 1.9 billion rufiyaa already spent as of October 8. “The state is going bankrupt paying for Aasandha,” he added, while stressing that citizens should receive medical treatment but not through a free, unlimited scheme.