KP Sehat Card Plus: Proposed Changes Could Shift Rs9 Billion Burden to Patients

Proposed changes to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Sehat Card Plus programme during the PTI government's tenure included measures that could have increased patients' out-of-pocket healthcare costs, according to details provided about a September 10 meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. The proposals were presented as part of efforts to reduce the programme's expenditure. However, one of the suggested changes involved collecting 20 per cent of treatment costs from patients at private hospitals, except for selected treatments. The proposed arrangement raised concerns about the financial protection available to low-income families seeking medical care. Another proposal would have restricted expensive, non-emergency treatments to government hospitals, potentially limiting patients' access to such services at private facilities. The meeting also considered excluding several medical services from Sehat Card Plus coverage and revising payments to government hospitals by 10 to 15 per cent. The proposals included estimated savings of Rs1.7 billion by restricting expensive, non-emergency treatments and Rs379 million by excluding treatments classified as less complex. According to the documents described in the supplied information, implementing the proposed changes involving an estimated Rs9 billion in collections from citizens would have required formal approval from the chief minister or the provincial cabinet. Sources cited in the information said Sohail Afridi did not sign the proposed summary because of his involvement in long-march political activities. The proposed changes were not implemented following the imposition of governor's rule on October 11. The information also alleges that PTI subsequently politicised the issue of treatment restrictions and launched a social media campaign over the programme. The controversy centres on whether the proposed expenditure reductions would have limited access to healthcare or increased the financial burden on patients who depend on the programme. The supplied material does not include an independent assessment of the proposals or a response from PTI to the allegations.