KP govt to form insurance company for Sehat Card

PESHAWAR: The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is contemplating forming its own insurance company, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Advisor Muzzammil Aslam said.

The insurance company will work for several insurance initiatives including Sehat Card Plus, the finance advisor added. In November, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had said that the government is also pondering including life insurance in Sehat Card programme.

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Although Aslam did not mention it in his remarks, the decision probably springs from the previous skirmishes that the provincial government has had with the State Life Insurance Company (SLIC). Currently, the SLIC is responsible for the treatment expenses of Sehat Card Plus.

In September last year, the insurance company had suspended services due to the nonpayment of dues by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Later, after the assurances of the provincial government the services were restored.

Before that, in May 2023, the services were suspended by the provincial government due to the funds unavailability as well.

IMPROVED TRANSPARENCY

Muzzammil Aslam also announced that Sehat Card Plus is introducing a biometric verification system to bring transparency in treatment.

“Bringing a verification system will reduce the risk of corruption,” Aslam said.

The finance advisor added that the provincial government has released over Rs30 billion for Sehat Card Plus in the past nine months.

According to news reports, by December 2024, nearly 700,000 patients benefitted from free treatment under provincial government’s health initiatives. Dawn News also reported that women had outnumbered men in availing benefits of Sehat Card Plus.

REVENUES OF PUBLIC HOSPITALS SOAR

According to a report released last month, the income of public sector hospitals has increased multi-fold since the Sehat Card program was launched. This is primarily because the provincial government barred private hospitals from carrying out certain medical procedures after allegations of unfair treatments. Patients complained that private hospitals were subjecting them to surgeries like tonsillectomy, cataract, appendectomy, angiography, and cholecystectomy even when they did not need them.

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The government then made these treatments, along with caesarean delivery, septoplasty and submucosal resection to be available only on Sehat Card Plus (SCP) and in public hospitals. Dawn News reported last year that public sector hospitals earned north of Rs12 billion as a result of these restrictions.