PESHAWAR: The government has decided to enhance per family health insurance package from Rs720,000 to Rs1 million under Sehat Sahulat Programme for the residents of tribal districts from January 1.

Officials told this scribe that next year 1.1 million families of seven newly-merged tribal districts would become eligible to seek free treatment under the federal government-run Sehat Sahulat Programme (SSP). They said that so far the residents of former Fata were entitled to avail costless health services after their verification by the relevant authorities, who issued cards to them.

Over 1.1m families of former Fata to become eligible to free treatment next year

“Now, all the residents of tribal districts would be able to undergo cashless treatment on their national identity cards in all empanelled hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and rest of the country,” they said.

The people of tribal districts are eligible to seek treatment in the hospitals empanelled by Social Health Protection Initiative (SHPI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There are 158 hospitals, including 129 private health facilities, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Four of these hospitals are in situated in merged districts. The number of countrywide designated hospitals is 564.

The residents of former Fata would continue to get health services under SSP till 2023 when the current PC-I will end and after that all dwellers of the province would be handled under SHPI.

Officials in health department said they were ready to include residents of merged districts in SHPI. They said that they had requested the federal government to transfer more than Rs2 billion from SSP funds meant for the inhabitants of tribal districts but it was a long process and couldn’t be materialised due to legal issues.

They said that all the residents of merged districts would avail all services like the residents of other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They said that SHPI was inking agreement with Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute Lahore for free liver transplants.

“We are already offering free services to the residents of other districts of the province requiring kidney transplant. The same services would be available to the residents of tribal districts,” said officials.

They said that SSP had so far provided treatment to 803,000 patients costing Rs19.4 billion since start of the programme in 2016. “We are in the process of passing a law from the provincial assembly to ensure that the programme is not discontinued in future and the people get free health services on sustainable basis,” they added.

A draft law titled ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universal Health Coverage Act, 2021’ has already been vetted by the law department that will be presented before the cabinet for approval prior to passing it from the provincial assembly.

Officials said that the legislation would enable the government to give legal coverage to the programme and put in place a mechanism for its oversight. They added that they were trying to motivate public sector hospitals to treat more patients under the programme and receive money.

So far, 27 per cent of the money spent on the free treatment of patients went to public sector hospital and 73 per cent to the private health facilities, they said.

The public sector Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar, one of the best performing facilities, has established separate counter to entertain more patients under the SHPI while Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad would begin 100 per cent free admission under the programme within a week.

Officials said that Peshawar Institute of Cardiology was the only health facility that admitted and operated more than 99 per cent patients under the programme.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2021