PBS’ NewsHour special correspondent Saima Mohsin on Monday reported from Pakistan on “an innovative health insurance plan for the urban poor.” In Pakistan, 99 percent of the country’s low-income population does not have health insurance, and this plan, called Naya Jeevan, “hopes to change that. … The equivalent of just $2.50 a month provides access to private health care and, crucially, regular health checks for contagious or infectious diseases as a preventive measure for a country that is still battling polio, malaria and hepatitis.”

According to the report, “hundreds of local companies, restaurants and multinational corporations are signing up for the plan for their low-income employees.” The story also looks at some of the plan’s limitations, as well as issues within Pakistan’s health care system (5/23).