KU to introduce new medical insurance policy

The University of Karachi has decided to introduce a new computerised medical insurance policy for its employees following widespread complaints of misuse of the existing medical facility.

Under the new policy, all KU employees from BPS 1 to 21 will be insured. The employee's basic pay scale will determine their hospitalisation and room limits. Work has been continuing on the new medical insurance policy for the past four years. The last time KU's medical insurance was revised in 2018.

Data of all employees are being verified and updated after which they would be issued their new computerised health insurance cards, officials said. Until now, the data of KU employees were not computerized, leading to misuse of the facility, they added.

KU's Vice Chancellor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi recently presided over a meeting for this purpose. Prof Iqbal Azhar, the Focal Person for Health Insurance, told The Express Tribune that data of all employees would be updated before new computerized health cards were made for all the employees.

Prof Azhar added that the novel coronavirus pandemic had delayed work on the new medical insurance policy. He said that VC Dr. Iraqi has already issued instructions for speeding up the process.

He said that the KU administration has approached insurance companies while data of employees was being collected. He said the process would be expedited after the insurance companies shared their plans with the Ku administration.

President of KU's Officer Welfare Association and Member Syndicate Dr. Muhammad Hassan Ouj said that they would have no objection if all the officers and employees agreed to the new medical insurance policy.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2022.