Jakarta, March 16 (Antara) - The government has been urged to cancel the move to increase the monthly premium amount that participants have to pay to the Healthcare Social Security Management Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).
"The increase in premiums violates the principle of mutual assistance adopted by the BPJS Kesehatan as it is a social insurance scheme. If the premiums are raised, then how will it be any different from the commercial insurance schemes?" Chairman of the Indonesian Consumers Institute Foundation (YLKI), Tulus Abadi, was quoted as asking by the Institute on its official website on Tuesday.
The President of the Indonesian Workers Unions Confederation (KSPI), Said Iqbal, also aired the same views. "It is the budget for the PBI which should be increased to overcome the financial problems being faced by the PBJS Kesehatan, instead of raising the premiums that non-PBI participants have to pay," Iqbal said in a press statement here on Wednesday.
He was referring to the PBI group of BPJS participants whose premiums are paid by the government.
Therefore, the KSPI stressed that it has rejected the government's plan to raise the premiums of the BPJS Kesehatan. Moreover, the government did not consult those who contribute to the BPJS Kesehatan funds before taking this step.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) issued the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 19/2016, based on which the government decided to increase the monthly premiums.
The decision was taken by the government after the BPJS Kesehatan, operational since 2014, faced financial difficulties, thanks to the high volume of claims made by insurance beneficiaries that led to a deficit of Rp7 trillion.
BPJS Kesehatan, which was launched in 2014, is a mandatory healthcare program for every citizen.
There are two groups of BPJS Kesehatan participants. The first group comprises low-income patients, known as Contribution Assistance Recipients (PBI). A certain portion of their premiums is paid by the government. Together with the disabled people, they make up the first category or group of BPJS Kesehatan participants.
The second group comprises non-PBI participants. These are wage-earning workers and their family members, as well as non-employees and their family members.
They have to pay their own premiums ranging from Rp25,500 per month to avail of healthcare services in third-class facilities, Rp42,500 for second class and Rp59,500 for first class facilities.
However, the premiums collected every month were found inadequate to cover the high volume of claims that the BPJS had to pay.
Therefore, the government has adjusted the premiums, enhancing these based on the Perpres No. 19/2016. According to BPJS Kesehatan director for legal, communications and institutional affairs, Bayu Wahyudi, the monthly premium for the PBI participants (paid by the government) was raised from Rp19,225 per participant to Rp23,000.
The monthly premium for third-class facilities was raised from Rp25,500 to Rp30,000; for second class from Rp42,500 to Rp51,000; and for first class from Rp59,500 to Rp80,000.
The increased premium will be collected with effect from April 1, 2016 as part of the efforts to reduce the deficit suffered by the BPJS Kesehatan.
However, YLKI chairman Tulus Abadi said no matter how much premium is paid, it will still not cover the deficit if another crucial aspect is not improved, namely the behavior of the people so that they stay healthy.
Preventive measures should be promoted while people's distrust regarding the basic healthcare services should also be addressed.
After all, he said, the BPJS services are still bad and were not up to better healthcare service standards. The government and the BPJS should not think that once people are covered by it, they do not have to spend on health services. In fact, they spend more on health because the services provided by the BPJS remain of poor quality.
He said that if the government has no other choice except to increase the premiums, then it should increase the premium for the PBI recipients which is borne by the state.
After all, President Joko Widodo had once promised to increase the budget for the Contribution Assistance Recipients (PBI) of the Healthcare and Social Security Management Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), remarked Indonesian Workers Unions Confederation's (KSPI's) President Said Iqbal.
According to Iqbal, during the presidential campaign in 2014, Jokowi had once promised to increase the PBI budget of some Rp20 trillion to Rp30 trillion annually.
"Increasing the budget for the PBI is a solution to the financial problem being faced by the BPJS Kesehatan. The solution should not mean raising the premiums, which the non-PBI participants have to pay," Iqbal noted in press statement on Wednesday.
Low-income patients, known as PBI, have a proportion of their premiums paid by the government and along with the disabled people, they comprise the first category or group of BPJS Kesehatan participants.
Therefore, the KSPI stressed that it rejected the government's plan to raise the premiums of the BPJS Kesehatan. Moreover, the government, before deciding to raise the premiums, did not seek inputs from the people who are the contributors of the BPJS Kesehatan funds.
"In countries where social security schemes use a public legal entity system, or a trustee, any plans to raise the premiums must first be open to public opinion through a public hearing mechanism in the House of Representatives (DPR) and their social security councils," Iqbal affirmed.
He pointed out that tens of thousands of workers would take to the streets in 20 provinces and 150 districts at the end of March to reject the planned increase of BPJS Kesehatan premiums.
The laborer rally, aimed at voicing their rejection to the BPJS Kesehatan's plan to hike the premiums, will be held at the premises of the state palace. In other regions, the laborers will stage a rally in the yards of governors' offices and the offices of the local BPJS Kesehatan.
The BPJS Kesehatan is planning to hike the premiums of the PBJS healthcare service schemes, effective from April, 2016.
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(A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE/H-YH
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 16-03-2016 22:47:5 |
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