Health card scheme being extended to 13 more districts

LAHORE : Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafiq has said that after the success of Health Insurance Card Scheme in four districts of the province, the scheme is being launched in 13 more districts out of which the services have already been started in Layyah since November 2017.

Khawaja Salman Rafiq, who is also the chairman of Punjab Health Initiative Management Company (PHIMC), said this while chairing a meeting of the company to review the arrangements for launching the scheme in the proposed districts, according to a handout issued here on Saturday. Specialsed Healthcare Secretary Najam Ahmed Shah, PHIMC Chief Executive Zaheer Abbas Malik and other officers also attended the meeting.

Mr Zaheer Ahmed Malik said that in Rahimyar Khan, Sargodha, Narowal and Khanewal district, 0.8 million families were already benefiting from the scheme and getting free of cost treatment. He said that registration of the poor families had already been started in the 13 districts which would be completed by the end of this month. He said the 13 districts where the scheme was being introduced were Bhakkar, Hafizabad, Khushab, Mianwali, Dera Ghazi Khan, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Bahwalnagar, Bahawalpur, Multan, Vehari and Layyah.

Kh Salman Rafiq said that under the scheme, Health Insurance Card of Rs 50,000 would be given to a registered family and the amount could be enhanced up to hundreds of thousands of rupees in case of any serious illness.

The minister directed that arrangements be finalised to launch the scheme in the proposed districts.