KARACHI: Days after Prime Minister Imran Khan “requested” the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government of Sindh for its participation in the federal health insurance scheme, the party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday rejected the proposal saying public hospitals of the province were serving the people much better and alleged that the centre’s policy “favoured” private hospitals.

In a strong, blunt and convinced way, the PPP chairman was sure about the ineffectiveness of the centre’s health insurance scheme and efficiency of free treatment policy of Sindh government hospitals, saying the health card scheme could not even cover single day expenditure of expensive treatments of different life threatening diseases at the hospitals.

“We [Sindh government] are not only offering those expensive free treatments but also ensuring lifetime care and medication to the patients,” he said while addressing a press conference at Bilawal House.

Alleges centre is diverting govt hospitals’ funds to private ones

“Khan Sahab (PM) puts out feelers to the people about the health insurance scheme and praises it. But it’s not a system of care. This system cannot even afford single day treatment of Covid-19 patients. It has certain limits. It can’t afford open heart surgeries (carried out in Sindh government hospitals) in a single day. I challenge Punjab. I challenge KP. I challenge Balochistan and Kashmir. Show me one hospital of the standard being maintained by NICVD [National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases] and JPMC [Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre].”

He claimed that the people from all over Pakistan were coming to Sindh for liver and kidney transplants and insisted that the provincial government’s model for free treatment at government hospitals was not only effective but also helping capacity building of the public sector health facilities.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said he had reason to raise doubts over the centre’s health insurance scheme. “This move benefits private hospitals. You are diverting government funds to private hospitals,” the PPP chairman said. “It’s a kind of robbery on resources of public sector hospitals. You are taking money from government hospitals and diverting it to private hospitals. It’s not justified by any means.”

Only last week, striking a tone of reconciliation for second consecutive time during his visit to Karachi, Prime Minister Imran Khan had called for better coordination between Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led federal government and the Sindh administration for Karachi’s development and “requested” again the provincial government for its participation in the health card scheme and its approval of Bundal Island development.

The PM while mentioning benefits of the health insurance scheme had referred to its launch in Punjab where by March 2022 it would cover every family in the province while it had already been extended to every corner of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir governments were ready to launch the initiative.

The PPP chairman’s categorical stance, however, has ruled out the possibility of the Sindh government’s participation in the scheme.

LG law

Mr. Bhutto-Zardari reiterated that the recently-passed local government law would empower local bodies politically and financially. He said that the Sindh Local Government Act was being called a black law by those who had unilaterally imposed a local government ordinance on Punjab.

“Property tax will directly be given to local bodies, and when they start collecting the taxes themselves, they will have finances to help the people,” he said.

He said that the local bodies would be strong politically too as education, health and law departments of towns would be answerable to the elected bodies. They will have to submit a report every two weeks.

“The only reason other political parties are opposing the law is that they know they will lose local body polls to the arrow [electoral symbol of the PPP]. It’s about time that all of PPP’s political opponents accept the success of the party and realise that it is stronger than ever.”

In the coming local body elections, he said, people across the country, including Karachi, would prove that the PPP was the only party that had solution to their problems.

“The PPP is the only party which speaks the truth and has good intentions,” Mr Bhutto-Zardari said.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2021