State Life resumes Sehat Sahulat Programme for AJK till Dec 31

ISLAMABAD: The State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan Tuesday allowed all panel hospitals to provide health services only to the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) under Federal Sehat Sahulat Programme till December 31, 2023.

People of Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Tharparkar Sindh will not be provided health services and admissions to the hospitals under federal Sehat Sahulat Programme, State Life said in a letter to the health facilities across the country.

Last week, the insurance corporation had directed all the panel hospitals to stop providing health services and admitting patients from Islamabad, AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan and Tharparkar Sindh under federal Sehat Sahulat Programme after Punjab government refused to bear the financial burden of federal government.

But following prolonged discussions and persuasion by the federal health and finance authorities, the State Life on Tuesday issued a letter to all the panel hospitals in the country and advised them to provide health services to the people of AJK for the next 10 days of the year.

The federal Sehat Sahulat Programme for the citizens of Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Tharparkar district of Sindh will remain suspended, State Life says.

It is worth mentioning here that due to paucity of funds, federal Health Ministry is unable to keep the Universal Health Coverage programme continue for around 18 million people in Islamabad, AJK, GB and Tharparkar district of Sindh.

But instead of apprising the people of actual situation, Ministry of Health and the caretaker Health Minister Dr. Nadeem Jan kept insisting that programme was not being closed and services were continuously being provided to the people.