Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has wrapped up a health insurance pilot project, initiated in Faisalabad in 2012, owing to 'flaws in the design and audit observations.' A senior official told Business Recorder on Wednesday that BISP was initially planning to expand the health insurance programme to other districts as well but had now decided to wrap up even the pilot project.
"The federal government has announced a health insurance scheme in the budget; therefore it is not possible for us to run a similar and parallel programme for selective districts and only BISP beneficiaries," he said. The official said health had also been devolved to provinces under the 18th constitutional amendment; therefore the BISP had been co-ordinating with the provinces to take care of the poor and needy patients.
"There are certain flaws in the design of the project and that's why it could not take off," he said, adding "people of the area have also been complaining that beneficiaries for the project were chosen on the basis of political affiliation." The PPP-led government's BISP management had signed an agreement with the State Life of Pakistan for provision of health insurance to BISP beneficiaries for the pilot project.
The audit paras on BISP have, however, highlighted that State Life of Pakistan was not mandated for health insurance and its mandate was limited to life insurance. The official said a special fund was created for health insurance against the rules with the objective of obtaining the go ahead from SECP and finance division. "The previous management had pressed the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and Finance Division for creation of health insurance role for the State Life," he said. The official said the present management had been taking the audit observations seriously and "want to rectify all the wrongs committed by the previous management."
Earlier, the BISP board recommended evaluation of the programme after audit paras and alleged embezzlement in the funds were brought to its notice. Under the pilot project, only the BISP beneficiaries were entitled to health insurance programme. A beneficiary family could avail up to Rs 25,000 health facilities per year. The official data available with Business Recorder reveals that a total of 7,882 patients visited hospitals or other medical facilities while 2,024 patients were admitted and enjoyed the health insurance facility.
BISP has identified 7.2 million eligible poor families, 23 percent of the total population, on the basis of a nation-wide poverty scorecard survey using a proxy means test approach. Under the Waseela-e-Taleem programme, the BISP has, however, expanded its outreach to 32 districts from five and has also increased monthly stipend of the beneficiaries' children from Rs 200 to Rs 250.
The programme is designed to support primary education of BISP beneficiaries' children in all the four provinces including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Secretary BISP could not be reached for his comments despite repeated attempts till the filing of this story.