On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan officially launched the Sehat Card Plus program in Swat. This ambitious project will provide universal health coverage to the residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Forty million citizens (6 million families) across all 35 districts of the province will be provided with health insurance by the government. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the country's first province to introduce universal health coverage for all residents.
According to government officials, the KP government will spend over Rs.18 billion annually to provide this huge facility to the people. 6 million families will be entitled to medical treatment of up to Rs.1 million annually at more than 450 government and private hospitals across the country.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, termed it a “historic development for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” and expressed hope that other provinces would also announce similar programs. He also promised the residents of Punjab that his government is planning to emulate this landmark project in Punjab too.
On Friday, the residents of the Malakand division became the first ones to attain health insurance. The KP government aims to complete this six-phase program by January 2021.
The KP government has signed an agreement with the State Life Insurance Corporation for the health coverage initiative. The services included in this program are as follows:
1) Rs. 200,000 for emergency, maternity services, fracture, and general surgery.
2) Rs. 400,000 for cardiovascular, diabetes, kidney diseases, breast cancer screening, neurological diseases, and artificial limbs (prosthesis).
3) Rs. 400,000 for cancer treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery), kidney transplant, accident, and emergency and ICU care.
KP's health and finance minister Taimur Jhagra credited the current provincial government headed by Chief Minister Mehmood Khan as well as the previous PTI government led by CM Pervez Khattak as they had initiated the Sehat Card program providing health coverage to 30% of the population and the current government took it to a whole new level by providing universal coverage.
Following the successful launching ceremony, Jhagra tweeted:
Today the PM launched a mega-project like no other. As CM Mahmood Khan said, we are a govt for all Pakhtunkhwa. Sehat Card Plus is for everyone from KP. Your age, status, or political affiliations do not matter. An ID card is all you need.
Explaining the program, the minister added further:
By January 31, every KP domicile holder, regardless of where in Pakistan they live, regardless of their political affiliation, regardless of income, all will be covered. And it will be as simple as using your National ID Card. You don't need to register or pay anyone for your card. When your district comes online your ID card will enable you to get coverage. We have over 450 hospitals, and counting, public and private, empaneled countrywide where treatment can be sought.
PM Khan felicitated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for giving health insurance cover to all those with a KP domicile terming it as "a huge step towards making Pakistan a welfare state based on Riyasat-e-Madina."
