Sehat Card Plus is the CM Punjab government health insurance card providing free treatment up to Rs. 1 million per family per year at empaneled hospitals across Punjab and selected facilities nationally. Since the 2024 universal expansion, all Punjab residents qualify regardless of income — the previous restriction to BISP-eligible families has been removed. The card covers inpatient treatment, surgeries, emergency care, maternity services, and treatment for major diseases like cancer and cardiac conditions. Outpatient department (OPD) coverage remains limited; the card's primary value is for hospitalization expenses that would otherwise create financial hardship.
Who qualifies for Sehat Card Plus in Punjab
The eligibility framework was significantly expanded in 2024 to cover all Punjab residents, ending the previous restriction to households below specific income thresholds. The change made Sehat Card Plus Pakistan's broadest universal health coverage programme — every Punjab resident with valid CNIC qualifies regardless of income, employment status, or family composition.
- Pakistani citizenship with valid CNIC
- Punjab residence — verified through CNIC address or supporting residence documentation
- Original CNIC for adult family members and B-form for children under 18
- Family registration certificate showing household composition
- No active claims dispute with previous Sehat Card cycles
- Awareness of empaneled hospitals near your residence (the card works only at empaneled facilities)
How to actually get your Sehat Card Plus
The card itself doesn't require active application in most cases. Since the universal expansion, every Punjab CNIC-holder is automatically eligible — the card materialization happens when you first need hospital treatment. At any empaneled hospital, the registration desk verifies your CNIC against the central database and activates your coverage immediately. There's no pre-issuance physical card to obtain.
For households that want a physical Sehat Card Plus document for record-keeping, registration desks at major hospitals and dedicated Sehat Sahulat Program offices can print one upon request. The physical card includes the family head's name, CNIC, and a unique family identifier — useful for record-keeping but not required for treatment access. The CNIC alone is sufficient for service at empaneled facilities.
Mobile updates from the State Life Insurance Corporation (which administers Sehat Card claims) send SMS notifications when you're registered for a treatment episode. Save these SMS as record of authorized treatment — they're useful for any future claims disputes or service quality complaints.
What Sehat Card Plus actually covers and where it stops
The covered services list is comprehensive for hospitalization scenarios. Inpatient treatment, major and minor surgeries, emergency care, intensive care unit admissions, maternity services including caesarean sections, and treatment for major diseases (cancer chemotherapy, cardiac surgery, kidney dialysis, organ transplants in limited scenarios) all fall within coverage. Pre-existing conditions are not excluded — treatment for chronic diseases discovered before card activation is covered the same as new diagnoses.
What's not covered: outpatient department visits at most hospitals (some primary care visits are covered at specific Punjab government hospitals), routine dental work, cosmetic procedures, eye glasses and routine optometry (cataract surgery is covered), and medications for ongoing chronic conditions taken at home (medications during hospital stays are covered).
The Rs. 1 million annual cap is total across all family members combined. Family-level cost tracking happens at each empaneled hospital — the registration system queries the central database during each treatment episode and adjusts treatment authorization based on remaining family balance. If a treatment estimate exceeds remaining balance, the hospital may refuse coverage or limit treatment to the available amount.
Finding and using empaneled hospitals
Sehat Card Plus only works at empaneled facilities — hospitals that have signed agreements with the Punjab government and State Life Insurance. The empanelment list covers approximately 800+ hospitals across Punjab, including all major government hospitals (Mayo Hospital Lahore, Services Hospital, Punjab Institute of Cardiology, etc.) and a significant number of private hospitals across all major cities. The list updates as new hospitals join or existing ones exit the panel.
The most reliable empanelment check is calling 0800-09009 (Sehat Sahulat helpline) with the hospital name — operators verify against the current empanelment status. Alternatively, visit a candidate hospital's registration desk directly and ask about Sehat Card Plus acceptance. Some hospitals have Sehat Card Plus desks specifically; others handle it at general registration.
For non-emergency treatments, identify empaneled hospitals before visiting. Showing up to a non-empaneled hospital with the expectation of Sehat Card coverage results in either out-of-pocket payment or transfer to a different facility, neither of which is convenient mid-medical-need.
Common Sehat Card Plus problems and how to handle them
- 🚩 Hospital claims to be empaneled but the central database doesn't reflect this — verify via 0800-09009 before accepting treatment costs as covered
- 🚩 Treatment quote exceeding remaining family annual balance — request a treatment plan that fits within remaining coverage, or pay the excess out of pocket
- 🚩 Hospital staff suggesting upgrades to non-covered services (premium rooms, additional non-medical amenities) — Sehat Card covers standard medical care; upgrades are your responsibility
- 🚩 Pre-treatment authorization delays — major procedures sometimes require pre-authorization from State Life that delays scheduling by 24-72 hours
- 🚩 Disputed claim where treatment was provided but State Life refuses to settle with hospital — escalate via 0800-09009 with treatment records and hospital correspondence
- 🚩 Family member treatment counted under wrong family — happens occasionally when CNIC family linkages have errors; report immediately to prevent loss of family balance
What to do in genuine medical emergencies
For emergencies, taking the patient to the nearest empaneled hospital is the immediate priority — verifying empanelment can wait until after stabilization. Once at the hospital, registration confirms Sehat Card Plus eligibility and treatment begins immediately. Emergency treatment costs are typically covered without pre-authorization delays; the verification happens during or after the immediate care episode.
If the nearest hospital is not empaneled, transfer to an empaneled facility happens after initial stabilization. This is medically standard practice in Punjab — emergency departments at most major hospitals coordinate transfers when Sehat Card coverage is needed. The transfer cost (ambulance) is typically not covered, but the receiving hospital's treatment costs come under your card balance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, within defined service categories. The Rs. 1 million is the annual maximum per family across all covered services — surgeries, hospitalization, emergency care, and major disease treatment. Outpatient visits, routine dental work, and cosmetic procedures aren't covered. For typical Punjab families, the practical benefit is comprehensive coverage of any major medical event that would otherwise create financial hardship; the Rs. 1 million cap is generous enough to cover most realistic family medical scenarios in a single year.
Yes, at empaneled private hospitals. A significant share of Pakistan's major private hospitals (Hashmanis, Shaukat Khanum for cancer specifically, Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi has limited empanelment for Punjab residents) participate in Sehat Card Plus. Empanelment varies by hospital and by department within the same hospital — confirm with the specific hospital's registration desk before assuming coverage. Premium private hospitals (Shifa International, certain CMH facilities) generally are not empaneled.
Emergency treatment at a non-empaneled hospital is your out-of-pocket responsibility — Sehat Card Plus doesn't reimburse costs incurred at non-empaneled facilities. For non-emergency situations, transferring to an empaneled hospital after initial stabilization preserves the card's benefit for the bulk of the treatment. For genuine life-threatening emergencies where transfer isn't immediately safe, document all costs and pursue post-treatment reimbursement claims via the Sehat Sahulat helpline — these are evaluated case-by-case and sometimes covered.
During hospital admission, yes — medications administered during your hospital stay are part of the treatment cost covered by the card. After discharge, ongoing medications for chronic conditions are your responsibility, even if the chronic condition itself was diagnosed and initially treated under the card. This is the most common point of confusion: covered hospital treatment doesn't extend to free outpatient medications later.
Yes — the Rs. 1 million family balance is accessible at any empaneled hospital across Punjab. A family with members spread across Lahore, Multan, and Faisalabad can each access treatment at empaneled hospitals in their respective cities, with each treatment drawing from the shared family balance. The central database tracks consumption in real-time, so geographic separation doesn't affect access.
Sehat Card Plus is Punjab's implementation of the federal Sehat Sahulat framework. They share similar architecture and the same Rs. 1 million coverage scale, but eligibility and operational details vary by province. Punjab's universal eligibility since 2024 differs from some other provinces where income thresholds still apply. The card is province-specific; a Punjab resident's Sehat Card Plus works at empaneled hospitals across Pakistan, but the program rules and dispute mechanisms reflect Punjab's administration.