The launch by Prime Minister Imran Khan of a health insurance scheme that is to make healthcare affordable for poor families deserves to be applauded. Under the scheme, families earning about $2 a day are to be issued 'Sehat Insaf Card' covering up to Rs 720,000 medical expenses per annum for treatment in designated public or private hospitals. Additionally, the patients would get Rs 1000 for travel along with the cost of medicines for five years. And in case of a patient's death, Rs 10,000 is to be paid for funeral expenses. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, the PM announced that initially the cards would be distributed among the needy families in Islamabad and tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and that within a month, around 10 million people in Punjab would benefit from health cards. The PTI, it may be recalled, had successfully run a similar programme in KP during its previous stint in that province.
According to Information Minister, Fawad Chaudhry, it has also been decided to include journalists and artists in the programme. Those earning less than Rs 150,000 annually would be eligible, too, provided they make a small contribution to the insurance plan. Another important aspect of the programme is that its efficacy is to be monitored in real time, from the moment of a patient's admission to and discharge from a hospital, including the nature of his/her ailment and the treatment provided. That would provide useful data about the prevalence of diseases, which can help the government better plan protective measures against preventable illnesses. By all means, it is praiseworthy effort in a country where many people die prematurely for being unable to afford medical treatment. In some cases, families sell their basic possessions to meet hospital expenses for their near and dear ones. Notably, three years ago, the PML-N government had introduced a somewhat comparable scheme - though offering a much smaller amount of Rs 50,000 for hospital treatment - called the Prime Minister's National Health Programme. That too was started in Islamabad, and later expanded to some areas in the provinces except for Sindh. No information is available, though, as to how many people benefited from it.
The present initiative would be a big step towards making best possible medical treatment accessible for disadvantaged sections of society in a respectful way. However, it raises the obvious question, why do that only in Punjab and tribal districts of KP? True, the PTI rules in those two provinces; true also that healthcare is a provincial subject. But considering it is the prime minister's programme, it should be extended to Balochistan and Sindh as well. Another issue is that hospitals, especially public sector ones, are already woefully overcrowded. There is an urgent need, therefore, to take a holistic view of the healthcare situation, and focus attention on disease prevention and improvement in and expansion of the existing medical facilities.