Islamabad, December 08, 2018 (PPI-OT): As per desire of Prime Minister Imran Khan Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination under the leadership of Federal Health Minister Aamir Mehmood Kiani completed an important step to expand the ambit of Social Health Protection Initiative (Sehat Cards) to poor families across Pakistan. Health Minister Said Financial bids of insurance companies were opened in the presence of media for provision of health cards to 14 million families across Pakistan.
Through these health cards families, living below poverty line of US $2 per day, will be provided with financial protection against extraordinary health care expenditure. This sehat card provides its enrolled poor beneficiary access to quality indoor health care services, worth Rs: 720,000, free of cost and with dignity from public and private empaneled hospitals of their choice across Pakistan. Wide range of both medical and surgical indoor services are included in this scheme including hearth surgeries, stunts, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, dialysis, maternity and other medical and surgical services.
Federal Health Minister vowed to make all out efforts to provide the best possible facilities to the poor segment as envisioned by Prime Minister Imran Khan. For the purpose Ministry of NHSRC initiated its procurement process through which an insurance company was to be hired and contracted out for the implementation of the health cards scheme for next 3 years. Technical bids of the interested and shortlisted insurance companies were reviewed by a specially notified high powered evaluation committee on 6th and 7th December 2018 while the submitted financial bids were opened publically and in front of national wide media and procurement results announced on 8th December 2018.
The evaluation committee had representation from all provinces, including Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh, and has members from Ministry of Finance, Planning, Law and Justice and BISP. It is pertinent to mention that Ministry of NHSRC is aiming to complete the contracting process with selected insurance company during the month of December 2018. It is expected that upon completion of the program implementation a total of 14 million families (Approximately 80 million individuals) will be enrolled and benefiting from the scheme in all districts of the country.
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