Third party audit of Sehat Card finalised

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has decided to carry out a third party audit of the Sehat Insaf Card health insurance scheme in order to make it more transparent.

This was announced by Health Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Special Assistant to CM on Information Kamran Bangash while talking to media men after signing an MoU for the third party audit with a private firm here Friday.

Taimur said that the Sehat Insaf Plus Scheme is being given legal status under the Universal Health Care Act which will bind the coming provincial governments to provide this facility to the general public free of cost.

He said that each month around 60,000 individuals are availing this facility and this number was gradually increasing over time. He said that from January 1st next year the liver transplant will also be included in this scheme.

“Free OPD and other facilities will also become a part of the scheme this fiscal year. And the third party audit will make it even more transparent,” he said.

He informed reporters that a departmental audit will be conducted but a third party audit will also be carried out in phases in the next three years for the sake of transparency.

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“In the first phase audit will be conducted from November 2020 till June 2021. Similarly, audit will be conducted in phases till 2024 by the firm,” he said, adding that if any irregularity is found during this audit then strict action will be taken against those responsible.

The minister also maintained that the data obtained from the third party audit will be shared with media. And the audit will also evaluate the performance while the inclusion of hospitals and the performance of Statelife Insurance will also be monitored strictly, he said.

Jhagra said that the awareness regarding the Sehat Insaf Card scheme was spreading and with it the use was also going up.

“Last month around 60,000 people availed the facility and if the trend continues with this pace then around seven lakh families will be using the scheme per year,” he claimed.

“We are also making this scheme permanent by means of legislation under the Universal Healthcare Act. We are including the merged districts in the scheme too,” he claimed, adding that negotiations with the federal government were underway in this regard.

The health minister assured that a third party audit will be conducted of the medical teaching hospitals.

Talking on the occasion, Kamran Bangash said that the Sehat Insaf Card Scheme was very popular among the general masses in the province. He said that the scheme was appreciated by the PM himself and the third party audit will make it further transparent.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2021.