The provision of health care is the responsibility of the government. Universal health coverage suggests that all citizens should have access to a full range of quality health services without financial hardship. Pakistan is among the lowest-ranked nations in terms of quality and accessibility of healthcare.
The previous government made an efforts to provide healthcare access for citizens in two provinces. After the collapse of the PTI government, the fate of the Sehat card scheme hanged in the balance. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the caretaker government stopped payments to insurance companies who threatened to close the scheme until the matter was resolved.
In Punjab, there were reports that treatment of health ailments for cardiac patients have been stopped in private hospitals, raising concern among patients. There was also reports that maternity services were being suspended. The insurance company even a notification but the interim government refuted all claims and said that it was making changes to the scheme.
The Punjab government claimed that the affluent class also benefiting from the scheme despite being able to afford the treatment who must be excluded. Now the scheme will be given to deserving and poor people. The criteria for eligibility has not been clearly provided. The government says those earning less than Rs65,000 or with a electricity over 8,000 rupees are eligible Other measures suggests that BISP beneficiaries or those who stood in queues for free flour scheme will be eligible.
The provincial health minister even maintained that unnecessary cardiac operations were performed which led to a shortage of stents in hospitals. There were anomalies detected such as non-eligible doctors performing surgeries, excessive use of stents, and a large number or surgeries performed within a single day, which was a serious violations for globally recognized healthcare practices.
It must be reminded that main responsibility of the caretaker government is run administrative affairs and conduct the next elections, rather than making policy statements. This has given credence to claims that popular schemes by the PTI government are being shut down. Caretaker information Minister Amir Mir claimed a ‘mafia’ become billionaires during the PTI tenure as the patients went to private hospitals. The caretaker government could certainly have handled the matter better rather than giving an impression that it was political move.
