The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Health Department has decided to revise and enhance the rates for around 80 surgeries and procedures to ensure that patients using Sehat Card Plus (SCP) receive timely treatment at empaneled hospitals.
According to sources, the rates for these procedures were last fixed in 2020. Since then, inflation and the depreciation of the rupee have discouraged doctors from facilitating SCP patients efficiently, often resulting in long waiting times.
Although doctors at empaneled hospitals cannot refuse SCP patients, they sometimes resorted to delaying tactics due to the low reimbursement rates for these operations.
The Policy Board, in a recent meeting, directed officials to conduct a market survey to assess the current costs of these procedures. The aim is to adjust rates so patients can access prompt medical services through SCP.
The procedures in question include common orthopedic surgeries frequently required after accidents, as well as general and urogenital surgeries. Rates for these have not been revised in the last five years.
Officials said that the findings of the market survey will be presented after the formation of the new provincial cabinet, after which the revised rates will be approved. The exact scale of the increase is yet to be confirmed.
READ MORE: Shifa International Approves Merger with Subsidiary
An official noted, “If a patient faces long delays for an operation under SCP due to low rates, they often opt for private surgery. Therefore, the Policy Board decided it was necessary to increase surgeons’ rates for these procedures to prevent patient suffering.”
