MPs' health insurance: remove for all or give to all, Majlis Finance Committee says

The Finance Committee of the People's Majlis has decided to study how to deal with the health insurance provided to parliamentarians, after a public petition calling for the benefit to be scrapped gathered more than 7,000 signatures. At a committee meeting held today, PNC member for Hithadhoo Medhu constituency Ahmed Azan Marzooq proposed that the insurance should not be removed for MPs alone. He argued that if the benefit is to be cut, it should be cut for everyone who receives it under the same law, and if it is to be continued, it should be extended to all members of the public. His proposal was supported by MDP member for Hulhumale Dhekunu constituency Dr. Ahmed Shamheed. The committee agreed by consensus to form a small subcommittee to find a sustainable way to provide health insurance services to everyone. Azan said MPs receive health insurance under a specific law, and that the same law covers employees of many state institutions, including courts, police, the military and independent institutions. He said it was unfair to remove the insurance only for parliamentarians, noting that some institutions extend coverage to retirees and even their parents until death. He also said the current package costs more than MVR 200 million a year for police and military personnel. He pointed out that police officers, soldiers, judges and their spouses and children are also ordinary citizens, and that a fair system should be established so that expensive insurance benefits are not available only to some.