Federal Health Minister Aamir Mehmood Kiani has said that the people living below poverty line of $2 per day will be provided Sehat Cards. The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination under the leadership of Federal Health Minister Aamir Mehmood Kiani has completed an important step to expand the ambit of Social Health Protection Initiative (Sehat Cards) to poor families across Pakistan. In a statement, the health minister said financial bids of insurance companies were opened in the presence of media for provision of health cards to 14 million families across Pakistan. “The sehat cards will provide its enrolled poor beneficiaries access to quality indoor health care services worth Rs 720,000 free of cost and with dignity from public and private hospitals of their choice across Pakistan. A wide range of both medical and surgical indoor services are included in the scheme, including surgeries, stunts, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, dialysis, maternity and other medical and surgical services.” The minister vowed to make all-out efforts to provide the best possible facilities to the poor segment as envisioned by Prime Minister Imran Khan. For the purpose, the Ministry of NHSRC has initiated its procurement process through which an insurance company was to be hired and contracted for the implementation of the health cards scheme for the next three years. “Technical bids of the interested and shortlisted insurance companies were reviewed by a specially notified high powered evaluation committee on December 6-7, 2018, while the submitted financial bids were opened publically and in front of nationwide media.” The evaluation committee had representation from all provinces, including Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh, and has members from Ministry of Finance, Planning, Law and Justice and the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). It is pertinent to mention that Ministry of NHSRC is aiming to complete the contracting process with the selected insurance company during the month of December. It is expected that upon completion of the programme a total of 14 million families (approximately 80 million individuals) will be enrolled in the scheme. Published in Daily Times, December 9th 2018.