Sindh Health Department completed all arrangements for rolling out the Universal Health Insurance Policy to ensure the provision of cost-effective, quality healthcare facilities across the province. Consultation with all the stakeholders has also been carried out for the launch of the Universal Health Insurance Policy, while the Sindh Health and Law departments have agreed to work together to fulfill all the legal requirements, according to a statement issued here on Tuesday.
The agreement was reached in a meeting between the Caretaker Minister of Health, Social Welfare, Public Health Engineering, and Rural Development Sindh Dr Saad Khalid Niaz and Caretaker Law Minister Umar Soomro. The Health Minister, Dr Saad Khalid Niaz, said that Universal Health Insurance is a revolutionary project that will provide affordable and quality treatment to the people of Sindh, while free treatment will be given to people living below the poverty line. He said that health insurance will not only provide quality healthcare facilities to people, but it will also help improve the condition of hospitals and benefit medical staff.
The preparation of the Sindh Health Department concerning the policy was complete, while some legal complications would also be done away with with the assistance of the Law Department, he informed, and hoped that with the final approval of the cabinet, Universal Health Insurance would be rolled out across the province soon. The law minister, Umar Soomro, said that health cards had already been issued to people from the other three provinces of the country; therefore, the people of Sindh should also get health cards.
Through the eighteenth constitutional amendment, the subject of health was handed over to provinces, and there was immense potential for taking revolutionary measures at the provincial level, he said, adding that the caretaker government intended to work efficiently for the welfare of the people of the province.
The two ministers discussed various aspects of the Universal Health Insurance Policy in detail and agreed to clear up legal complications related to the policy. The Law Minister, Umar Soomro, assured his possible cooperation on behalf of the Law Department.
