Rs2 billion released for Sehat Card scheme

Rs10.5b released for the flagship scheme since March

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has allocated an additional Rs3 billion for the Sehat Insaf Card program, bringing the total released funds to Rs10.5 billion since the current administration took office in March.

Advisor to the Chief Minister on Finance, Muzamil Aslam, announced this on Sunday, noting that these funds are intended to enhance healthcare services and provide free medicines to patients.

In the past five months, the health card program has facilitated treatment for 363,000 individuals, with 104,000 utilizing the Sehat Card Plus facility at private hospitals.

Aslam highlighted that the government has increased its monthly expenditure on health cards to Rs2 billion, resulting in improved quality of services and a shift in preference from private to government hospitals. To date, 260,000 people have been treated in government hospitals under the health card program.

Aslam addressed critics who have labeled Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as financially distressed, emphasizing that the current administration's focus, guided by Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur and Chairman Imran Khan, is on public service. He reassured that more positive developments are expected for the people of the province.

After a year-long hiatus, the government has also released Rs110 million in reserved funds for the treatment of critical diseases under the Sehat Insaf Card program.

However, this amount is significantly lower than previous years' allocations. The Sehat Plus Program recently received its first application from a cancer patient seeking treatment under these reserved funds.

The program had previously faced severe funding cuts during the caretaker government's term, leading to restrictions on coverage to only three critical conditions: dialysis, cancer, and emergency treatments. The stoppage of reserved funds resulted in significant difficulties for patients needing kidney and liver transplants, intensive care, and chemotherapy.

Following the PTI government's assumption of power, the Sehat Insaf Card program was reinstated on March 12 to provide free treatment province-wide. Despite this restoration, reserved funds remained stagnant.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has since released Rs5 billion to the insurance company to restore health card services, but the total payments to date amount to Rs16 billion, with outstanding liabilities of Rs9 billion.

Recent allocations include Rs3 billion for free treatment under the health card program for June and July alone.

Additionally, the government has released Rs110 million as reserved funds, with Rs40 per family previously paid to the insurance company, totaling approximately Rs500 million. This funding covered up to Rs400,000 in treatment costs for critical diseases, with reserved funds used for any additional expenses.

Patients requiring treatment for kidney failure and various cancers are still in need of further funding to support their care.

The government still has outstanding liabilities of Rs9 billion. Additionally, sources indicate that Rs3 billion were allocated specifically for free treatment under the health card program in June and July alone.

Sources further stated that the recent government has released Rs110 million as reserved funds.