Over 15 Million Families To Be Enrolled Under Sehat Sahulat Program

The government has planned to ensure enrolling over 15 million families (over 80 million individuals) to avail quality healthcare services under Sehat Insaf Sahulat Card scheme for treatment for various diseases from the empanelled hospitals

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Aug, 2019 ) :The government has planned to ensure enrolling over 15 million families (over 80 million individuals) to avail quality healthcare services under Sehat Insaf Sahulat Card scheme for treatment for various diseases from the empanelled hospitals.

According to an official of the Ministry of National Health Services, the government has been trying to make every countryman a card-holder soon in order to have best healthcare delivery system in the country.

He said that the government has enrolled two million families so far under Sehat Sahulat Program from 42 districts of the country for provision of free medical services from empanelled hospitals.

He added Sehat Insaf Sahulat cards have been issued to the deserving residents from Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), AJK, GB, newly merged districts of KP (ex-FATA) and Islamabad Capital Territory.

The government has already raised the Sehat Sahulat Card benefit from initially announced amount of Rs 120,000 per year for secondary care treatment while premium amount increased to Rs 7,20,000 per family (previous Rs. 600,000) per year for eight priority diseases and illnesses related treatment.

He added the government has also decided to include disabled persons in Sehat Sahulat Program and it has started issuing Sehat Insaf Sahulat Cards to them throughout the country.

He said that some 200,000 people have been registered as disabled so far in database of National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) and the card would be available to all the disabled persons after registration.

Similarly, the government has started health insurance of Overseas Pakistani labourers and their families which would be provided on the pattern of PM's Health Insurance Program.

The Ministry of National Health Services, in collaboration with the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis, has launched this health insurance project for Pakistani emigrants to provide healthcare facilities to their families back at home.

Under this program, Sehat Insaf Card would be given to the emigrants upon their departure from the country. The card would be given priority even in the districts where it is not currently available.

The official said that the card would be provided at Rs 2,000 per year against insurance of Rs 7,20,000.

He said that as many as 85,000 deserving families in the Federal capital will get healthcare services under the Sehat health card scheme for medical treatment of various diseases from the empaneled hospitals.

The official said that a wide range of free medical and surgical indoor services would be provided, including heart surgeries, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, dialysis, maternity, transplant and other medical and surgical services from the public and private hospitals of their choice across the country.

He said presently there was a burden on the government hospitals in the federal capital which would be reduced with full launch of the scheme.

The official said the National Database and Regulatory Authority (NADRA) would be responsible for real-time monitoring as the entry would be mentioned when the card would be used.

He said under the program, an amount of Rs 1,000 would be given as transport charges for patients and medicines for up to five days while Rs 10,000 would also be given for funeral in case of the death of patient.

The official said on transparent tender winning, State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan would manage the treatment of holders of Sehat cards in different hospitals.

He said the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) has the data of people having less than $3 per day income and the National Database and Regulatory Authority (NADRA) has collected their data.

He said the government has already paid an amount of Rs 800 million to the State Life Insurance for continuation of the program and there would be no issue of funds for the program in future also.

He said in first phase, the deserving people would be invited to receive health cards while in next phase the government would deliver health cards to the deserving at their home address.

He said the government has also decided to include working class, including journalists' community in health insurance coverage.

He said that those living below the poverty line would benefit from the health scheme. As per the vision of the prime minister, health sector was being given top priority and work had been expedited to bring improvement in it, he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Ministry of National Health Services has initiated its procurement process through which an insurance company was hired and contracted out for the implementation of the Health Cards scheme for next three years.

Technical bids of the interested and shortlisted insurance companies were reviewed by a specially notified high-powered evaluation committee while the submitted financial bids were opened publicly and in front of national wide media and procurement results were announced in December 2018.