PESHAWAR: The State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) has suspended free treatment of patients except emergencies on Sehat Card Plus owing to non-payment of its dues by the government.

“The SLIC, which is implementing the free treatment programme on behalf of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, has been asking the authorities concerned to pay Rs5 billion to it so it can be able to continue the services till September,” sources said.

According to them, the government is required to pay a total of Rs18 billion to the insurer in lieu of the liabilities of the previous and current year but the former is yet to make the payment owing to which the free health services have been again suspended temporarily. “The government has paid only Rs3 billion to SLIC this year,” they said.

On Tuesday, the insurance firm wrote a letter to advise all empanelled hospitals working under Sehat Card Plus programme to stop taking new admissions till further direction. However, immediate emergencies and lifesaving procedures will be allowed under pre-authorisation.

Empanelled hospitals will continue emergency service on Sehat Card Plus

The letter said that health desks at the empanelled hospitals would remain open to deal with immediate emergencies and lifesaving admissions by sending all such requests for pre-authorisation to the corporation. All the private hospitals are further advised to refer all cases, except emergencies and life-threatening cases, to public sector hospitals in the absence of SCP.

The free treatment programme, launched by the government in 2016 covering limited population, was extended to the entire population of the province in November 2019 in a phase-wise manner.

Presently, the scheme covers 9.7 million households in the province. However, after the end of the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf government, the pioneer of the free health initiative, SCP has been facing suspension and restoration owing to non-payment of dues to SLIC by the government. Two months ago, SLIC stopped liver and renal transplants on SCP. Both the procedures cost Rs5 million and Rs1.4 million, respectively.

So far, more than 100 patients have undergone kidney and 30 liver transplants whereas more than 12 are waiting to receive free health services under the programme.

Similarly, stoppage of free dialysis and cancer treatment has badly affected 15,000 patients. Of them, 13,000 patients need dialysis and 2,000 require cancer treatment.

Sources said that the government wanted to resume free treatment services but financial constraints were the main obstacle. According to them, the government has pledged Rs28 billion per year in the budget for the cashless treatment of the patients and SLIC wants it to pay Rs2.5 billion per month to it so that it can continue the programme and benefit the patients.

“On August 8, Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC) suspended free health services, asking SLIC for its unpaid Rs1.2 billion but the latter was not able to clear the dues,” said sources. The very next day, PIC resumed services after getting assurance that its outstanding dues would be paid. “However, not a single penny has been paid to the institute so far,” they added.

The insurer has empanelled more than 1,100 hospitals across the country and paid them after a month. However, owing to lack of funds, the insurer is not able to make payment to the empanelled hospitals and as a result the patients suffer.

PIC, which has been providing free health services to patients at the rates agreed in 2020, is also demanding revision of package in view of devaluation of rupee and increase in prices of implants in international markets because those are imported in dollars. The institute continues to extend emergency services to heart patients.

Since launch of the programme, more than 2.3 million patients have received free services, costing Rs58 billion. “Emergency services un der the programme will continue but the hospitals would seek prior permission from the insurer, as per latest suspension order,” said sources.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2023