Healthcare in Maldives: Hospitals and Health Insurance
Healthcare in Maldives
With a population of 364,000 in 2015, Maldives ranks 178th in the world by population and 216th by total area. The official language of Maldives is Dhivehi. The currency is the Maldivian rufiyaa.
Maldives ranks 147th in world health ranking per WHO. In 2014, the total expenditure on health per person was $1,996, which is 13.7% of the GDP. Maldivian males have a life expectancy at birth of 77 years, and females can expect to live 80 years. There are 1.42 physicians per 1,000 people in Maldives as compared with 2.56 physicians per 1,000 people in the United States.
Hospitals in Maldives
Maldives has several levels of service based on population size and geographic location:
- a primary health facility on every inhabited island.
- comprehensive secondary level health service within every atoll
- tertiary level health service at the capital city of Male: The Maldivian government oversees the Indhira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), offering emergency and diagnostic care, pediatrics, orthopedics, gynecology, and general surgery, as well as specialist departments in cardiology, urology, and intestinal infections. Patients at IGMH often experience long wait times. The ADK Hospital is a private facility with modern equipment, offering emergency care, general surgery, pediatrics, orthopedics, urology, and other specialist departments.
Smaller medical clinics are located across the islands, as well as some in-house doctors who can provide basic care at some resorts. A decompression chamber is also near most resort islands in case of a diving emergency.
In total, Maldives has 2 hospitals in the main island and 6 regional hospitals, 13 atoll hospitals, 87 health centers, 51 family health sections, and 37 health posts. This reorganization of the health sector, overseen by The Ministry of Health and Gender, has increased access to medical services for the island communities.
Health Insurance in Maldives
The Ministry of Health and Family offers affordable access to healthcare through the social health insurance scheme called Madhana. Members pay an annual fee of $160, which is subsidized up to 50% by the government. The scheme provides healthcare of up to $7,820 a year per member. It also covers the spouse, children, and parents of the member.
The government also offers immunization programs, which have eradicated most childhood diseases.
Travel (International) Health Insurance in Maldives
Travel, or international, health insurance provides comprehensive medical coverage when traveling outside of one’s home country. Travel health insurance is different from travel insurance, as the latter may provide only emergency coverage but not full medical coverage.
Travelers should check with their health insurance provider, as they may already have an option of international health coverage. If they do not, they can purchase travel health insurance from their home country or the destination country.
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