During a press conference held by Amir Mir and Punjab’s Caretaker Minister, Dr. Javed Akram, it was announced that the Sehat Card program has undergone certain modifications. As per the latest updates, individuals with electricity bills amounting to Rs. 10,000 or above, as well as those who travel abroad or have phone bills exceeding Rs. 8,000, will no longer be eligible to benefit from the Sehat Card.
Dr. Javed Akram emphasized that individuals who can afford such expenses cannot be considered economically disadvantaged. To ensure the proper allocation of resources, the Social Welfare Department will be involved in determining the eligibility criteria based on deserving status.
The caretaker minister addressed previous instances of misuse of the card and clarified that the government does not have any ulterior motives regarding the Sehat Cards introduced by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The policy changes have been implemented to safeguard resources, and a fund of Rs. 1.5 billion has been established for this purpose.
Furthermore, only government hospitals will offer free heart treatments under the program. The presence of the Pakistani flag on the card will be limited or removed, and CNICs (Computerized National Identity Cards) will now serve as Sehat Cards to prevent any potential misuse. Dr. Javed also mentioned that this scheme was originally initiated during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif in 2015.
Despite these limitations, the Sehat Card program will continue to operate with the aforementioned changes.