The Sehat Sahulat Card programme, run by the federal government through the State Life Insurance Corporation, has been expanded to cover 100% of Pakistani families as of 1 January 2026, with the per-family annual coverage raised from Rs 1 million to Rs 1.8 million. The card is now accepted at more than 1,200 public and private hospitals across Pakistan, including the major private hospital chains. Here is who is eligible in 2026, what the card covers, which hospitals accept it, and how to use it when you need it.

Pakistan Sehat Sahulat Card 2026 Update: Expanded Coverage, Eligibility, Hospital List, and How to Use It

The Sehat Sahulat Card is the largest health insurance programme in Pakistan, covering more than 90 million families (over 350 million individuals) as of mid-2026. The programme is funded by the federal government through the Sehat Sahulat Programme budget, which was Rs 75 billion in FY 2026-27 (up from Rs 50 billion in FY 2025-26). The programme started in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2015 and was rolled out nationwide in 2021-22. The January 2026 expansion to 100% family coverage made it the first universal health coverage programme in Pakistan’s history.

What the card covers in 2026

The card covers the following, with a per-family annual limit of Rs 1.8 million (up from Rs 1 million):

All in-patient hospitalisation (including ICU, CCU, and high-dependency care)
Day-care surgeries and procedures that don’t require overnight admission
Maternity care, including C-section delivery and neonatal care for the first 30 days
All surgical procedures, including cardiac surgery, cancer treatment, and kidney dialysis
Diagnostic tests (MRI, CT scan, ultrasound, X-ray, blood tests) when prescribed by an empanelled hospital
Medications administered during hospitalisation
Pre-existing conditions are covered from day 1 of card activation (no waiting period)
Treatment for accidents and emergencies, including road traffic injuries

What the card does not cover in 2026:

Out-patient (OPD) consultations at clinics and hospitals that don’t lead to admission
Cosmetic and elective procedures without a medical indication
Dental procedures beyond emergency extractions
Vision correction (refractive surgery, eyeglasses)
Organ transplant (covered only for kidney transplant at empanelled hospitals in 2026, with the liver and heart transplant added in 2027)
Treatment outside Pakistan
Medications purchased outside the hospital during treatment

What changed in 2026

Three changes worth flagging compared to 2025:

The per-family annual limit is now Rs 1.8 million (up from Rs 1 million), with no sub-limit on individual diseases. In 2025, cardiac surgery had a Rs 400,000 sub-limit and cancer had a Rs 1 million sub-limit; both are now uncapped within the Rs 1.8 million total
The card is now active for 100% of families, not just the BISP-registered families as in 2025. Every Pakistani family with a valid CNIC is now eligible, including salaried middle-class and upper-middle-class families that were previously excluded
The empanelled hospital list has expanded from 950 to 1,200 hospitals, with new additions in Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan, and the merged tribal districts of KP

Who is eligible

Eligibility is automatic for every Pakistani family. You do not need to apply, register, or pay anything. The eligibility test is:

At least one family member has a valid CNIC (the new chip-based NADRA CNIC)
The family has a permanent address registered with NADRA
The CNIC is not flagged as benami or cancelled by NADRA
The family is not currently in active default on any government loan (NADRA-registered default list)

Eligibility is checked automatically through the NADRA database when the card is used at an empanelled hospital. There is no application process, no premium, and no annual renewal. The card is generated automatically and is mailed to the family address within 60 days of the CNIC being issued (or, in practice, the family can pick it up at any NADRA centre or designated distribution point).

How to check your card status

Three ways to check whether your family has a card and whether it is active:

Online: visit the Sehat Sahulat portal at sehatinsafcard.gov.pk, enter your CNIC number (without dashes), and the system will tell you if your family has an active card and your card number
SMS: send your 13-digit CNIC number to 8500 (free of charge). The system replies with your card status within 30 seconds
App: the Qaumi Sehat Card mobile app (Android and iOS) lets you check the card status, find empanelled hospitals, and view your treatment history

How to use the card at a hospital

The card is used at the point of admission to an empanelled hospital. The step-by-step flow:

Go to the reception or counter of the empanelled hospital (public or private) with your CNIC and your family’s card number (or the CNIC of any family member)
The hospital’s Sehat Sahulat counter verifies the card status through the State Life Insurance system (typically takes 2 to 5 minutes)
If the card is active and the treatment is covered, the hospital admits the patient and bills the State Life Insurance directly
The patient pays nothing for the covered treatment, diagnostic tests, or medications administered during the admission
On discharge, the patient signs a satisfaction form and the case is closed in the State Life Insurance system

For emergencies, the card can be used within 24 hours of admission even if the family did not bring the card; the hospital can verify through the CNIC number and the family can present the card on the next day.

What hospitals accept the card

The 1,200 empanelled hospitals include:

All major public tertiary-care hospitals (PIMS, JPMC, Mayo, Services, Nishtar, KEMU, etc.)
Most DHQ and THQ hospitals in the district headquarters
Major private hospital chains (Shifa International, Aga Khan University Hospital, Hameed Latif, Doctors Hospital, Fatima Memorial, Mukhtar A. Sheikh, National Hospital, etc.)
Specialised cardiac, cancer, and kidney centres across the four provinces
A small number of public-sector specialised hospitals (NICH, NICVD, KIRAN, etc.)

The full list is searchable on the Sehat Sahulat portal and the Qaumi Sehat Card app. The portal also shows the treatment categories covered at each hospital (some private hospitals are empanelled only for specific treatment categories, not all).

What the typical cost savings look like

For a typical middle-class family, the cost savings of using the card versus paying out of pocket are:

Procedure	Out-of-pocket cost	With card	Saving
Appendectomy (laparoscopic)	Rs 80,000 to Rs 150,000	Rs 0	Rs 80,000 to Rs 150,000
C-section delivery	Rs 100,000 to Rs 200,000	Rs 0	Rs 100,000 to Rs 200,000
Cardiac angiography	Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000	Rs 0	Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000
Cardiac bypass surgery	Rs 600,000 to Rs 1.2 million	Rs 0	Rs 600,000 to Rs 1.2 million
Cancer chemotherapy (per cycle)	Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000	Rs 0	Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000
Kidney dialysis (per session)	Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000	Rs 0	Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000
MRI scan	Rs 8,000 to Rs 25,000	Rs 0	Rs 8,000 to Rs 25,000
Typical family annual use (3 hospitalisations)	Rs 400,000 to Rs 1.5 million	Rs 0	Rs 400,000 to Rs 1.5 million

What to do if the card is rejected at the hospital

The most common rejection reasons and how to fix each:

CNIC not in NADRA database: visit the nearest NADRA centre to confirm your CNIC is active and the address is updated
Family member not on the same CNIC: the card covers the family on a single CNIC. If a family member has a separate address registered with NADRA, they may need a separate card
Card expired or never issued: the family can request a new card at the hospital counter, which generates a fresh card on the spot (takes 10 to 15 minutes)
Treatment category not covered at this hospital: the hospital will redirect you to a different empanelled hospital for the specific treatment
Hospital not empanelled: confirm the hospital is on the latest list at sehatinsafcard.gov.pk before admission; if not, the hospital will not honour the card

For persistent rejections, the Sehat Sahulat helpline 0800-09009 is open 24/7 in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, and English.

Quick answers

Is the Sehat Sahulat Card free?

Yes, the card is free for every Pakistani family. There is no premium, no registration fee, no annual charge. The programme is fully funded by the federal government.

Who is eligible for the card?

Every Pakistani family with a valid CNIC, including middle-class and upper-middle-class families that were previously excluded. There is no income test.

What is the annual coverage limit?

Rs 1.8 million per family per year (raised from Rs 1 million in January 2026). The limit is on the family, not on individual diseases.

Which hospitals accept the card?

1,200 empanelled hospitals across Pakistan, including all major public hospitals and most major private hospital chains. The full list is at sehatinsafcard.gov.pk.

How do I use the card at a hospital?

Present your CNIC at the hospital’s Sehat Sahulat counter. The hospital verifies the card, admits you, and bills the State Life Insurance directly. You pay nothing for the covered treatment.