Sehat Card back in full operation

Free treatment reinstated; counters reactivated

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has fully restored the free treatment facility on Sehat Insaf Card across the province.

On Tuesday, Provincial Health Minister, Syed Qasim Ali Shah addressed a press conference regarding the reactivation of free healthcare services under the Health Card Plus initiative for the people of the province.

The Provincial Minister shared that the Health Card initiative began in 2015, initially covering four districts of the province. By 2020, the scheme had expanded to cover the entire province, with an annual expenditure of Rs18 billion. The Health Minister, along with Chief Executive Sehat Sahulat Program, Dr Riaz Tanoli and Program Director Dr Ijaz, provided updates on the ongoing efforts.

Praising the successful implementation of Health Card services in K-P, Minister Shah stated that 1,800 different medical treatments are now available for free in 118 public and private hospitals catering to various specialties across the province. He highlighted that a significant amount of Rs10 million had already been spent on the admission of seven hundred patients by noon on Tuesday.

This reflects a fulfilment of ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision, which has been rejuvenated, and currently, an average of Rs3 billion is spent monthly on the Health Card.

Furthermore, the Minister announced the reopening of counters for Health Cards at hospitals, with the government allocating an additional Rs5 billion to the insurance company for this purpose.

He revealed that the previous government’s discontinuation of the Health Card during its tenure adversely affected the economically disadvantaged citizens.

The Minister emphasised that the Health Card is not a temporary but a long-term project. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, K-P province will witness new horizons of development.

The Health Department has issued a list of hospitals available on the Health Card Program’s panel, providing free treatment facilities in 118 hospitals. Minister Shah assured that the current challenges, including over-billing and irregularities, are being addressed by restricting certain operational procedures in government hospitals.

The number of hospitals empaneled on Health Card program has been reduced to less than 180 from over 180.

Minister Shah acknowledged the remaining financial challenges, leaving a balance of Rs18 billion in the system. Despite these challenges, the government is committed to restarting the program for the benefit of the people.

The provincial Assembly has recently approved a one-month budget, and while challenges persist, overcoming them is essential for the well-being of the public.

The minister said that the treatment facilities on the Sehat Card would be further improved in the province in the coming days as it was considered the flag-ship project of the previous PTI government.

The suspension of the treatment on Sehat Card during the caretaker government left almost all MTI hospitals across the province bankrupt and without funds.

The caretaker government was of the view that due to the financial crisis it could not afford free treatment facilities for all classes of the society in the province. It also decided to allow treatment under the Sehat card in only one government sector hospital in each district and certain treatments were only available at the public sector MTI hospitals.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2024.