Midhuam files petition arguing that if MP insurance is cheaper for the state, the public should receive the same coverage

A petition has been submitted to Parliament calling for the health insurance package available to MPs (with coverage across 19 countries in ASEAN, Europe and the Middle East) to be extended to all Maldivians.

During Monday’s sitting, PNC parliamentary group leader and Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falah said that the state pays MVR 24,000 per MP annually for the parliamentary insurance package. He said members’ medical treatment does not draw from the state budget, despite coverage of up to MVR 1,350,000 per annum, as the cost is borne by the insurance provider. In contrast, all Aasandha expenses are paid directly from the state budget. He added that MPs must cover accommodation and meal expenses during overseas medical travel.

The petition now, filed by social media activist Midhuam Saud, argues it is unreasonable for the public to rely on a “loss-incurring Aasandha” when a more beneficial model exists, in the line of MP Falah's logic. It thus calls for the MPs’ insurance package to be made available to all Maldivians.

The petition, submitted on Monday, has received 22 signatures so far.

One of the first petitions submitted after the introduction of online petitions in the 20th Parliament, also filed by Midhuam, similarly called for cuts to the expensive health insurance available to MPs but not to the public, which Falah spoke about on Monday. While some MDP and PNC MPs supported reducing the package during the debate on it, several questioned the purpose of the petition.