ISLAMABAD, SEPT 22: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad has suspended free treatment services for patients from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab under the health facility card program due to the non-payment of insurance claims.

The suspension affects a wide range of patients, particularly those seeking gynecological and general surgery treatments.

According to hospital sources, the decision was made after State Life Insurance failed to pay Rs 140 million in outstanding claims.

As a result, patients who relied on the health facility card for free treatments will now face difficulties accessing medical care. Only those in the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and dialysis patients will continue to receive free treatment under the program.

The suspension is expected to disproportionately affect the poor and lower-middle-class residents of both provinces, as they heavily depend on the health facility card for essential medical procedures.

While emergency operations for patients from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will continue at PIMS, new admissions under the health facility card have been halted until the payment issue is resolved.