PESHAWAR: On Monday, Qasim Ali Shah, the KP Minister for Health, presided over a review meeting for the Sehat Card Plus program in this city.
In addition to Fiaz Noor, a representative of State Life Insurance Corporation, and Dr. Ijaz, the director of Sehat Card Plus, DG Health, and Chief Executive Dr. Riaz Tanoli, other authorities were present at the meeting.
Following the meeting, Health Minister Syed Qasim Ali Shah disclosed that treatment for more than 8,000 patients under the Sehat Card Plus Program has begun in various hospitals around the country from the first of Ramadan to March 16th, with costs exceeding Rs. 172 million. Employees from State Life Insurance will soon be on duty around-the-clock at hospital health card counters.
He disclosed that since the July 2023 revisions, the Sehat card has resulted in proportionate spending in both public and private hospitals.
“Heart disease has incurred the largest Sehat Card expenses, totaling Rs. 18 billion, followed by C-sections at Rs. 4 billion and chemotherapy at over Rs. 3 billion. Peshawar’s MTI topped the list according to entries, he continued.
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He added that solutions are being explored to enhance the project further in order to guarantee free and uniform healthcare access for the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through the Sehat Card.
The Health Minister was informed during the briefing that the province launched the Sehat Card project in accordance with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Policy 2018 and Sustainable Development Goal Number 3, which places responsibility for citizens’ health care on the government and provides free and affordable health facilities.
Presently, the province’s Sehat Card Plus eligibility numbers exceed one crore families.
The Health Minister chairs the policy board that oversees the Health Card’s operations. According to Health Minister Wai, each family receives Rs. 28,58 from State Life, which covers free secondary care up to a total of two lakh, and four lakh for tertiary care.
This covers a variety of disorders from 1800 to 2000 and costs Rs. 29.40 billion a year, rising from 2.5 to 3 billion every month.
The minister was told that 97% of patients are happy with the Sehat Card initiative, based on an independent assessment. Under this program, more than 30 million patients have received treatment to date, at a cost of more than Rs. 76 billion.
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People have begun creating marriage cards in order to register their families as a result of the Sehat Card. Making married identity cards for free treatment under the Sehat Card is becoming more and more popular.
The Minister of Health was also informed that 311 government and 442 private institutions out of the 753 accredited hospitals in Pakistan are on the Sehat Card panel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, making up 118 of the total.
The Health Department, State Life Insurance Company, NADRA, and service providers are the four program partners of the Sehat Card.
The Health Minister was also informed that kidney and liver transplants can be conducted for free with the provision of a $1 billion reserve fund.
He was informed that KP MTIs made Rs. 8.7 billion with Sehat Card during the previous fiscal year. In addition, MTIs receive an annual grant of Rs. 46.8 billion in help.