8,000 treated after Sehat Card revival

Expenses show Rs18b for heart, Rs4b for C-Sections, Rs3 for chemotherapy following scheme reforms in 2023

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Qasim Ali Shah informed on Monday that until the fifth of Ramazan, treatment of more than 8,000 individuals had commenced under the Sehat Card Plus programme, with expenditures exceeding Rs172 million.

The minister chaired a review meeting with Sehat Card Plus CEO Dr Riaz Tanoli, DG Health Dr Shaukat Ali, Sehat Card Director Dr Ijaz and State Life Insurance Corporation representative Fiaz Noor, and others in attendance.

After the briefing, the health minister maintained that from the first of Ramazan until March 16, over 8,000 individuals in various hospitals were being treated under the Sehat Card Plus Programme, with expenditures exceeding Rs172 million. He said soon State Life Insurance staff would be available round the clock at the health card counters of the hospitals.

Shah observed that following the reforms in July 2023, expenditures in both public and private hospitals covered by the Sehat card remained proportional.

“The highest expenditures on the Sehat Card have been for heart diseases, amounting to Rs18 billion, followed by Rs4 billion on C-sections, and over Rs3 billion on chemotherapy. Entries show that Peshawar’s MTI tops the list,” he said.

The minister highlighted the ongoing considerations for additional enhancements to the project, aimed at providing free and standardised healthcare access to the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa through the Sehat Card.

During the briefing, Shah was told that under Sustainable Development Goal Number 3 and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Policy 2018, the province had initiated the Sehat Card project, holding the government responsible for the healthcare of the citizens. Currently, more than ten million families in the province are eligible for Sehat Card Plus.

The health card operates under a policy board, with the health minister serving as its chairman. Shah was told that Rs2,858 was given per family to the State Life, under which free secondary care treatment was provided to up to Rs0.2 million, while in tertiary care, the limit was 0.4 million.

This costs Rs29.40 billion annually, ranging from Rs2.5 to 3 billion monthly, covering various diseases.The minister was apprised that according to third-party evaluation, 97 per cent of patients were satisfied with Sehat Card programme.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2024.