ISLAMABAD, Aug 3 (APP):Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the introduction of a health insurance facility for journalists and artists was a step forward to achieving the milestone of an equitable Pakistan as dreamt by Quaid-e-Azam.
He was addressing the ceremony of agreement signing between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and State Life Insurance Corporation for providing health insurance cards to journalists, media workers, and artists as well as technical workers associated with the film industry.
The prime minister said the agreement was of utmost importance as it addressed the media men and artists who worked hard, even sometimes during tough working conditions, but remained deprived of basic amenities in their lives.
However, the government would provide them with health insurance coverage through budgetary allocations under the PM Program.
Calling her a “moving spirit” the prime minister appreciated the key role of Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyu Aurangzeb to launch the said insurance facility.
He recalled that during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure, health insurance card was launched on a massive scale, and at that time, the Punjab government also implemented his vision.
He said the health insurance card was a gift for the downtrodden people who could not afford costly medical treatments.
The prime minister said no one would have objected to the previous government’s health insurance facility if it was not meant to patronise the private hospitals. He said the across-the-board facility was misused as even some greedy healthy people misused that card to mint money, in connivance with the hospitals.
The prime minister shared that in 2003 he suffered a fatal disease and had to spend around Rs8 million at a US hospital which was in no way affordable for the poor.
He said in order to provide equitable health facilities, Nawaz Sharif had established Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute where 1,000 liver and kidney transplant procedures had been completed. The facility provides free treatment to the poor and charges the rich ones to help provide cross-subsidy.
He said the Nawaz Sharif-led government also introduced free medicine facilities at hospitals.
“This is the human service… This is the equality for which Pakistan was made but this is still a far cry,” he remarked.
He also lamented the suspension of free CT scan facilities provided at the district level, while he was Punjab chief minister, as the government had signed an agreement with private companies which installed the machinery and operated it successfully.
The prime minister also instructed the SLIC to provide efficient services to health insurance cardholders through hassle-free procedures.
In her address, Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that under the historic decision, Rs 1 billion each had been allocated for health insurance of journalists and artists.
She said as the registration process had already been started, the prime minister would also inaugurate the distribution of health cards by August 7.
She said the health insurance facility was in continuation of the Health Card program launched by Nawaz Sharif’s government.
She said the government had also made necessary legislation to link the journalists’ salaries with the business of the media entities.
The minister told the gathering that health card would cover ambulance service, cardiac and other surgeries.
“This is a whole package of the welfare of artists and journalists,” she remarked.
Besides, the government had also recovered Rs120 million of journalists’ salaries from media organizations.
The information minister said the health insurance facility was also the continuity of the prime minister’s efforts to revive the economy and programs like CPEC, BISP, Metro services and health insurance.
Earlier, Principal Information Officer Mubashir Hassan and Executive Director SLIC Shahid Iqbal Baloch signed the agreement for health insurance facility for journalists and media workers.
Director General DEMP Samina Farzin and Divisional Director SLIC Ashar inked the agreement for the health insurance facility to artists and technical workers.
