ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination Dr. Nausheen Hamid today informed the National Assembly that the federal and provincial governments had so far paid a total premium of Rs 4.9 billion to insurance companies for providing medical facilities to families living below the line of poverty.
Responding to questions in the House, she said the programme was initiated from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) on 1st January 2016 and till date, the government had enrolled 3.2 million poor families in 38 districts across the country.
She said a total of 474,000 enrolled families had so far visited authorized hospitals for medical facilities while 101,000 patients had been admitted in the hospitals and provided free of charge indoor services, ranging from open heart surgery to minor disease admissions. She said the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan, an insurance provider in the programme, was providing services to the enrolled families at the health insurance premium of Rs 1,300 per family per year.
To another question, she said the Federal Government had established no hospitals for mental health. However, the Pakistan Medical Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and the Federal Government Polyclinic (FGP) had separate psychiatry departments. The psychiatry department of PIMS was functional whereas the posts of that department in the FGP would be filled shortly through the Federal Public Service Commission. She said it is not a fact that 35 percent of Pakistan’s population was suffering from a form of mental disorder.