Jakarta,
Dec 12, (Antara) - About 140 million people will have medical insurance
coverage next month when Indonesia's Law No 24/2011 on Social Security
Management Agency (BPJS) in the health sector becomes effective in
January.
The 140 million covered under the scheme will include 86.4 million
poor, who were earlier covered by the Jamkesmas community health
insurance.
Also included in the 140 million are those who were earlier covered by various other health insurance
firms, such as PT Askes (state-owned health insurance company), PT
Jamsostek (workers insurance company) and the military/police
institutions.
Based on Law No. 24 / 2011 related to BPJS, the social security
management agency will consist of two administrations, namely the
BPJS-Health on health security (to be administered by PT Askes) and
BPJS-Manpower on social security schemes for workers (to be administered
by PT Jamsostek).
As Law No. 24/2011 will become effective as of January 2014, the
government hopes that the PBJS health scheme will cover 140 million
people beginning next month and Indonesia's entire population (about 250
million) by 2019.
Vice President Boediono visited the headquarters of the
state-owned medical insurance company PT Askes on Wednesday to inspect
preparations for the implementation of social health insurance.
Boediono stated that the implementation of the health service program
must start on January 1, 2014 and that this date was non-negotiable.
"PT
Askes is carrying out all the required preparations. PT Askes'
President Director Fachmi Idris has assured me that the company has made
all arrangements ranging from software to human resources, both at the
headquarters and branch office level," the Vice President noted, while
inspecting a public healthcare center (Puskesmas) in Cempaka Putih on
Wednesday.
Boediono
inspected the public healthcare center after visiting the headquarters
of PT Askes, which will administer the BPJS-Health. The Vice President
was accompanied by Health Affairs Minister Nafsiah Mboy and made the
inspection as part of government efforts to ensure the effective
implementation of the BPJS-Health scheme.
Idris noted that given the imminent implementation of the BPJS program,
his company had already begun coordinating with PT Jamsostek since
March this year to transfer and integrate Jamsostek's health insurance
program (JPK).
It had also begun collaborating with the military and police
institutions since July and with the Ministry of Health since September
on Jamkesmas for the transfer and integration of similar programs.
The process of acquiring data from PT Jamsostek, military/police
institutions and the Ministry of Health will continue until the end of
this year. The integration will be complete and the data ready to use by
January.
Vice President Boediono expressed satisfaction with the preparations of
PT Askes. "I believe appropriate arrangements have been made. I hope
the program will be implemented smoothly," he stated.
"If there are any pending problems, they will be handled once the scheme is implemented," the Vice President added.
BPJS, which is a public statutory agency, will commence its operations
by January of 2014 and is expected to provide healthcare services to
over 250 million Indonesians by 2019.
Under the scheme, the government will bear the medical insurance costs
for around 86.4 million underprivileged people, while premiums for
medical insurance for the working population will be paid by their
companies.
"The system will be implemented by 2014. Under this system, poor people
cannot be rejected by hospitals when they seek medical treatment," the
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono stated
recently.
All Indonesian citizens are required to become health insurance members
of BPJS, including expatriates who have worked in Indonesia for at
least six months and have paid insurance premiums.
To implement the BPJS-Health scheme in early 2014, PT Askes will
require the services of at least 6,000 employees. Since it currently
employs around 4,000 persons, PT Askes plans to ramp up recruitment of
additional personnel.
In the meantime, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(Kadin) said employers should understand the implications of the
implementation of the law on BPJS, particularly in the context of their
roles, rights and obligations.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of
Kadin's Permanent Committee for Industrial Relations Affairs, Hasanuddin
Rachman said that in the run-up to the implementation of the law, lots
of things were still unclear and these could create problems.
He pointed out that one of the problems concerned premium payments.
Regarding the BPJS-Manpower, the companies or employers will become the
object (payers of the premium) in the program, thus creating an
additional financial burden.
With regards to BPJS-Health, employers, especially private hospitals,
will become the subject and object of the program at the same time.
Therefore, matters relating to the amount of premium payments needed to
be sorted out, Hasanuddin said.
He added that based on the law, PT Jamsostek would be transformed into
BPJS-Manpower, which would handle occupational accident, old age,
pension and life insurance programs beginning July 2015.
In the meantime, PT Askes would be converted into BPJS-Health, which
will handle medical insurance beginning January 2014.
Unlike the premiums that have to be paid to BPJS-Health, he said, the
amount of premiums to be paid to BPJS-Manpower were still unclear. "We
are still waiting for the government's decision on the amount of premium
payments that will be borne by employers, government and workers,"
noted Hasanuddin.
On July 4, 2013, the Tripartite Party (employers, workers and
government) had agreed that from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015, some
30 percent of the health insurance premiums will be borne by employers.
Beginning July 1, 2015, three percent of the premiums will be commonly
borne by employers and workers/employees.
Unlike payments related to BPJS-Health, the mode and extent of premium
payments for BPJS-Manpower were still unclear, according to Hasanuddin.
The Chairman of PT Jamsostek's Workers' Union Abdurahman Irsyadi urged
the government to involve workers in the drafting of the government
regulation (RPP) governing the implementation of Law No 24 /2011 on the
BPJS.
The involvement of the workers union would help produce a regulation,
which would address the aspirations of workers and will not face
opposition.
"After all, the premiums collected by BPJS-Manpower and BPJS-Health are
taken from the workers' funds. So, it is only fair to involve workers
in the drafting of the regulation," Abdurahman said. ***4***
(T .A014/INE/o001)
EDITED BY INE |
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