The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has released an additional one billion rupees to the insurance company to continue free treatment on Sehat cards.
The insurance company had extended the deadline to May 22 for the release of funds and, in case the funds were not provided, all hospitals were instructed to stop providing free treatment.
However, due to the non-availability of reserved funds for the past two weeks, free treatment for diseases such as dialysis, cancer, and organ transplantation has been disrupted, causing severe difficulties for patients.
However, according to sources, the problems of the “Sehat Sahulat Programme” have not been resolved yet as the government must release an additional two billion rupees by the end of the current month for the smooth provision of the health services.
Similarly, obligations of 10 billion rupees for the month of June are still pending on the government.
According to sources, under the agreements in the province – reserved funds, which are 4.1%, must be available with the insurance company.
They claim that at present, more than 11,000 cases are affected by the delay in the reserved funds.
Under health insurance, an individual is entitled to free treatment of up to 1 million rupees. In case of insufficient funds, payment for patients' treatment is made from reserved funds.
It is reported that funds are available for secondary and tertiary care, but in case of further funds requirement, reserved funds are the only means through which patients can receive free treatment.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2023.
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