LAHORE: Dr Yasmin Rashid, president of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Central Punjab, says the “anti-poor people” PDM’s government is planning to roll back the Universal Health Insurance being offered through the Sehat Sahulat Card, depriving masses of decent healthcare indoor facilities across the province and federally administered areas.”

Asserting that the health card is in danger, former health minister Dr Rashid on Monday told a news conference at the party office that the Sehat Sahulat Card had revolutionsed the healtcare services for every person in Punjab as well as in Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistant and Azad Jammu and Kashmir—after due approvals at all constitutional forums, including PDWP, CDWP, Ecnec, and the Punjab cabinet.

“As many as 3.368 million people have received healthcare services at public as well as 821 empaneled private hospitals since the Sehat Sahulat Card was completely launched in all districts of Punjab in March last year – only a few days before the PTI federal government was toppled,” she explained.

She said this revolutionary programme offered 46,000 additional beds in private hospitals that could otherwise be created by establishing 87 new hospitals at a recurring annual cost of Rs1illion. She said the public sector hospitals in Lahore had 10 angiography machines that increased to 35, with 25 machines made available at Lahore’s private hospitals to the poor. She said 98 percent of beneficiaries had given satisfactory feedback on the services used.

The former health minister explained the mechanism of the health card program, saying the Punjab government had negotiated with the lowest bidder, State Life Insurance Corporation, and agreed to a premium of Rs 4,350 per family per year. Later, she said, a tripartite arrangement was signed after approvals from the PDWP, CDWP, Ecnec and the Punjab cabinet.

She stated that the PC-I was revised at a cost of Rs399 billion and approved by the PDWP on March 18, last year, after the original PC-I was prepared at a cost of Rs3,800 per family per year at a total cost of Rs332 billion.

The former minister said the federal government’s CDWP meeting a couple of days ago on January 27 had re-discussed the universal character of the programme “putting into question its sustainability”. She disclosed the CDWP had deferred the agenda and referred it to the caretaker provincial cabinet to give a second thought.

Asserting that a caretaker cabinet cannot take a policy decision on a decision taken by the elected government’s cabinet, Dr Rashid regretted that one could not expect anything better from the anti-poor regime. She also reminded reporters about the audio leak, saying, “Maryam Nawaz was asking his uncle Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to roll back the health card as PTI has nothing else to show to people”. She vowed that she would approach the court of law, if the caretaker government tried to roll back the health card. “The PML-N will also face public wrath if it tries to steal the much-needed healthcare facility for people,” she warned.

Dr Rashid said the PML-N already knew about its popularity among people and that was why running away from holding elections despite repeated assertions by the PTI.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2023