Kidney, liver transplants under free treatment scheme on hold.

PESHAWAR -- State Life Insurance Corporation, which is implementing the Sehat Card Plus programme, has halted free kidney and liver transplants and some cancer treatments due to non-payment of outstanding dues by the government under the free treatment scheme.

The health department has conducted more than 100 renal and 30 liver transplants free of cost under the SCP so far, according to sources. They said that the rate of a single liver transplant was Rs5.2 million and that of kidney transplant Rs1.4 million, which was not affordable for most of the patients. For the last two weeks, these procedures have been stopped.

The State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) has been implementing the programme on behalf of the provincial government and the latter is required to make payment to the former in advance. However, the SLIC had never received advance payment but always got the dues belatedly, said sources in the health secretariat.

Currently, about six patients are waiting to undergo liver transplant surgeries and about 12 others are in pipeline for renal transplants but the SLIC has stopped the procedures and wants payment of its outstanding amount.

Insurance firm managing Sehat Card Plus programme seeks payment of dues

The corporation has been running the programme despite delayed payments but of late it has stopped kidney and liver transplants and some types of cancer treatments and dialysis, which need more than Rs400,000 expenses.

The sources said that government had established a reserved fund, which was utilised for expensive treatments and procedures. As per rules, the SCP refers the cases of more expensive treatment to the committee that approves reserve the funds to go-ahead to facilitate the patients.

The corporation said that it had already spent Rs50 million more than the reserve funds and wouldn't be able to continue providing the costly healthcare to the patients on SCP.

Senior officials at the health secretariat told Dawn that the health department owed Rs18 billion to the SLIC and wanted the funds to continue with all treatments. The department paid Rs1 billion a few...