Sehat Cards: Punjab govt makes important announcement

The caretaker Punjab Health Minister Dr Javed Akram has announced that Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) will be used as Sehat Health Cards to avoid misuse of the health insurance facilities, ARY News reported on Sunday.

The caretaker health and information ministers of Punjab addressed a press conference today regarding the change of policy for the Sehat Cards (health insurance cards).

Caretaker Information Minister Punjab Amir Mir refuted the reports regarding the health cards. He said that the Sehat Card Scheme had been launched in Nawaz Sharif’s era in 2015 only for deserving persons.

READ: Sehat Card programme faces risk of closure in Punjab

He alleged that a mafia had started working in the name of Sehat Cards in the previous government.

Caretaker Health Minister Punjab Dr Javed Akram said that the government took major decisions regarding the health insurance cards as there is no need to print a flag on them. He clarified that the caretaker government is not ending the Sehat Cards and all facilities will be continued.

“CNICs will now serve as the Sehat Cards,” he announced.

He alleged that some people became millionaires through the Sehat Cards due to its misuse. “Benazir Income Support Programme’s (BISP) data is incomplete. The programme had been started for poor people. It was detected that stents were unnecessarily used on account of the health cards.”

READ: LHC moved against closure of Sehat Card programme

“If someone’s mobile bill is Rs8,000 and electricity bill is Rs100,000, then the individual is not poor. We will acquire deserving persons’ data from the social welfare department now. The caretaker government has no political motive behind the health cards.”

“If someone wants to get medical treatment from a private hospital, then the individual should bear 30% of the expenses and the remaining 70% will be borne by the government.”

To a question, the health minister said that the election commission is responsible for conducting polls but not the caretaker government.

In March, it was learnt that the State Life Insurance Company had threatened to close the Sehat Card programme over non-payment of dues worth Rs83 billion.

The tussle between the State Life Insurance and Punjab Health Feasibility Company had intensified as the state-owned insurance company threatened the closure of the revolutionary Sehat Card programme, launched by the PTI government.

The PTI govt launched the scheme to provide free-of-cost medical services to low-income and poor households and covers medical bills up to Rs1 million annually.

The Sehat scheme, first launched by the PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in 2016, was extended to the federal capital, Punjab, and Gilgit-Baltistan in 2021.