Pakistan: Imran Khan launches health insurance scheme for Punjab residents
People can avail free medical treatment worth Rs 1 million a year in all health facilities
Lahore: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday launched the ‘Naya Pakistan Sehat Card scheme’ that provided an annual health insurance cover of Rs 1 million to each family across the Punjab province.
“This is a landmark [scheme]. This is a defining moment towards our course to make Pakistan a welfare state,” the prime minister said addressing the launching ceremony here.
He said starting January 2022, the Sehat Card would be distributed across the province within three months allowing whole of the Punjab population to avail free medical treatment worth Rs 1 million a year at both government and private hospitals.
“This is not a health insurance rather a health system. Now private sector will build hospitals even in villages where the basic health units remain vacant as no doctor desires to be posted there. Now private sector will come and poorest of the poor will get free treatment,” the prime minister remarked.
He said the difficulties faced by his family for getting cancer patient mother treated, had prompted him to think of introducing a universal health insurance facility for the whole population so that no one had to sell out belongings for the medical treatment of their dear one.
He said three months of his mother’s illness was an ordeal from Allah for his whole family.
He said the health insurance cover would give the families a confidence to get treated their ailing family members which otherwise was unaffordable for many.
He said Pakistan was to become an Islamic welfare state but the leaders so far had been awaiting the resources which was contrary to the precedence of the Madina State.
The hospital which was built at cost of Rs 700 million now spending Rs10 billion for treating the patients.
Similarly, he said despite immense pressure from the opposition for a blanket lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, he opposed the idea just fearing the sufferings of the daily wagers and vendors.
He told the gathering that the Punjab government would spend Rs440 billion in three years for the health insurance facility to the people.