LAHORE: Over 200,000 patients have availed health card for cataract surgery in Punjab, said Dr Yasmin Rashid, provincial president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Addressing a press conference on Monday, the former provincial health minister said patients can easily have access to private sector hospitals for cataract surgery as it is considered to be a cheap one.

Similarly, she said, the private sector hospitals had installed 25 angiography machines after the launch of health card by the PTI. The actual number has reached 35 machines in case those operating in the public sector are added to this number, she said.

She said the PTI had launched the card by carrying out health insurance of those below poverty line in 2019, followed by the launch of health card with a limit of up to Rs 1 million in December 2021. She said the purpose was to ensure constitutional provision of free health facility for citizens and State Life Insurance had offered a minimum premium of Rs 4700 and all the districts of Punjab were set to be included in the scheme by March 2022.

However, she added, the federal government has revised the PC-I of the scheme while suggesting to construct private hospitals instead of carrying on the health card scheme. According to her, it was informed to the federal government that as many as 46,000 beds were covered under the health card scheme and the government would have to construct multiple hospitals to ensure such a huge number under the revised plan. The revised plan would require Rs 63 billion to get materialized on ground, she warned.

She said 98 percent of the population has expressed satisfaction with the health card, which has become a need of the hour keeping in mind slipping of 60 percent of the population below poverty line.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023