Aceh Governor Affirms Health Insurance Programme Not to Be Abolished

Banda Aceh (ANTARA) - Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf, also known as Mualem, has affirmed that the Aceh Health Insurance (JKA) programme will not be abolished, but rather adjusted, updated, or improved in terms of recipient data for greater accuracy.

“I affirm that the JKA budget is not being cut, but rather we are evaluating it to ensure its implementation is more targeted and equitable,” Mualem stated in Banda Aceh on Friday.

This statement was made in response to circulating information in Acehnese society regarding the alleged abolition of the JKA programme.

For context, the Aceh Government is adjusting JKA recipients, effective from 1 May 2026. The government has excluded three deciles or groups of prosperous society categories (deciles 8-10) from the Aceh health insurance coverage.

Subsequently, for deciles six to ten, financing will be directly covered by the Aceh Government through the JKA programme, except for TNI/Polri and ASN.

However, under the latest policy through Aceh Governor Regulation (Pergub) Number 2 of 2026 on JKA, the Aceh Government will only cover Acehnese society at the economic level of deciles six and seven (middle category).

Meanwhile, society in the prosperous economic category (deciles 8-10) will be excluded from JKA recipients, meaning they will no longer be covered by JKA.

Currently, Mualem said, the government is merely reorganising the division of responsibilities between JKA and the national health insurance (JKN), including the authority of the provincial and central governments.

He affirmed that this JKA adjustment is due to Aceh’s declining financial condition following the reduction in special autonomy funds for Aceh over the past three years.

“If in the future Aceh’s special autonomy funds return to 2.5 percent, the JKA implementation will be restored as before,” Mualem added.

For information, the number of people in the deciles eight to ten category in Aceh reaches 953,395 individuals.

Of this number, 106,066 individuals are ASN guaranteed through the worker participation scheme, and 23,415 individuals are non-ASN with chronic illnesses who remain a priority for services.

Thus, there are 823,914 individuals categorised as capable and no longer receiving health premium assistance through the JKA programme.