Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the commencement of a programme to provide health insurance for all the Punjab citizens, stating that by the end of March, all households in the province will have received the ‘Naya Pakistan Health Card.’
Families can receive free medical treatment for up to Rs1 million per year under the scheme.
Punjab becomes the second province to offer residents health insurance after the scheme was successfully launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which began offering all of its resident’s health insurance under the same programme in February.
Prime Minister Imran Khan praised Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmeen Rashid and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar for leading the project in the province during the program’s inaugural event in Lahore.
“This is a landmark, defining moment in the journey of Pakistan becoming a welfare state,” the prime minister said.
He stated that a total of Rs440 billion would be spent on health insurance over a three-year period as part of the scheme.
However, he added, “This is not just [about] health insurance. This is [about setting up] a health system.”
وزیراعظم عمران خان آج پنجاب میں نیا پاکستان صحت کارڈ پروگرام کا اجراء کریں گے. #صحت_کارڈ_سب_کیلیے pic.twitter.com/lGk4ocnaek
— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) December 13, 2021
The premier said the initiative would encourage the private sector to invest in establishing hospitals in villages and remote areas, where there were only government hospitals.
According to the premier, this program will encourage the private sector to invest in establishing hospitals in villages and distant locations where only government hospitals exist.
“There is a lack of doctors in these areas, but now the private sector will invest in constructing hospitals in the poorest of areas as everyone will be able to [pay for medical] treatment through health cards,” he explained.
Prime Minister Imran had earlier stated that the health card program aimed to address the issues that people faced, particularly the poor people had to face, when a member of their family became ill and they were unable to get them treated.
He stated he went through similar challenges and felt “helpless.” when his mother was diagnosed with cancer and there was no hospital in Pakistan to treat the sickness at the time.
“I thought of [setting up] a health insurance system back then,” he added.
He also mentioned that how the opposition criticized him for not imposing a complete lockdown after the rise of coronavirus.
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The prime minister indicated that he made the choice because he was aware of the challenges that daily wage earners and the poor would experience in complete lockdown.
“But the elite here are least bothered about the poor,” he lamented, adding that today, Pakistan was acclaimed across the world for the manner in which it dealt with the coronavirus pandemic.
“See how many people died in the neighboring country, India. See how many died in Iran. And how their economy suffered. And then look at Pakistan,” he remarked.
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